On The Ground
by LokiLova
Summary: It's been 97 years since humans walked on Earth, or so it was thought. In the hopes of saving the remaining part of the human-race,100 teens were sent to the ground. Adria didn't know what the expect when she was sent to the surface. But she didn't expect to have her life threatened by the strange people who had somehow survived the nuclear war.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my second story, please go easy on me. Hope you enjoy.**

We were sent here to die. Rather than have us die from oxygen deprivation, they sent us to the surface. Our world's surface was thought to be uninhabitable for 95 years after our ancestors thought it'd be a good idea to have nuclear war, making the earth un-survivable. Or so we had thought.

Chapter one:

"When called, walk in an orderly fashion towards the visiting area."  
>Visiting hour, every Wednesday from 10:00 – 11:00am. The worst day of the week as far as Adria was concerned. Every Wednesday all of the prisoners were allowed out of their cells (excluding those in isolation) and into the rec area in the chance they would have visitors. Adria had got used to the fact no one was coming to see her. This had been easy once she made peace with the fact her father just didn't want to see her.<p>

The positive part was the chance to interact with the other prisoners as they waited to be called through to see their loved ones. "You never know, Ads" Monty one of her friends from her station voiced, "Maybe he'll come today."  
>"It's been two years, why would he come now?" she shrugged, picking at the skin around her finger nail. Monty glanced at Jasper who sat next to him, both not wanting the share their thoughts. The truth was Adria would be turning 18 in two weeks and they all knew what that meant. At the end of those two weeks, Adria's case would be reviewed by the council and they would decide whether or not she would be executed for her crimes.<br>Monty opened his mouth but was cut off by Charles Connors, the head prison guard "prisoner 142!" Adria's head snapped up, had he just called her? Monty and Jasper looked up as well, trying not to show how surprised they were.  
>"Prisoner 142!"<br>"See what did I tell you!" Monty cheered tapping his friend on the shoulder "Go on" he added seeing that Adria had still yet to move.  
>"Prisoner 142, last chance!" Connors called. Charles Connors was not a patient man, and it was clear that he had even less patience for children. He was a slightly rounded man, with large red cheeks, which turned a light shade of purple whenever he yelled. Which was often.<br>"I'm here" Adria rose to her feet and began walking towards the security at the visitor's door. She stopped and allowed the guards to pat her down, routine security checks. Upon being given the ok she was lead through the door by one of the guards into the visitor's room.

This was the first time Adria had been in this part of the prison. She'd never had a reason to be. The room was pretty much like the rest of the prison, coloured grey with tables scattered about the room. Other prisoners were also scattered around, speaking quietly to their loved ones. Something about the color grey made everyone whisper. Adria looked around for any sign of her father. Nothing. She stood confused until her escort led her towards a table where a mostly unfamiliar man sat. The two sat in silence for a few moments as the guard turned and headed out the door.

As soon as the guard was out of ear shot her visitor leant across the table  
>"You Adria Harris?"<br>Staying mute she mentally scolded herself for even hoping that her father would come see her. Seeing he would get no response her visitor continued,  
>"You're probably confused, there must be other people you were waiting to see."<br>Again no answer.  
>"Right…um, my name's Wells" he began again "Wells…"<br>"I know who you are" finally breaking her silence "You're Jaha's son." It was a statement.  
>Well's nodded his head slowly, hearing the bitterness in her voice. He should have known not to expect anything else. A lot of people hated his father, and had good reason to.<p>

A heavy silence fell between them, neither knowing what to say. Adria huffed in annoyance, combing a hand through her brown locks. First this guy, not just any guy – the chancellor's son had interrupted her rec time and then did nothing but sit there. Who did this guy think he was?  
>"What do you want?" she finally relented tired of just sitting there. Wells took a calming breath and leaned even further across the table.<br>"I need to you to help me get arrested."  
>"Huh?" Adria mentally slapped herself for her less than intelligent response. Had she heard him right? Did he really just ask her to help him get thrown in the sky box?<br>"Look there's not a lot of time for me to explain this, but something is going to happen. Soon."  
>"Something?" Adria's voice was sarcastic. And she wasn't sorry.<br>Wells sighed. "Yes, and I need to be in here when it happens. Do you understand?" he asked gesturing around the room as he spoke.  
>"Um, no. Why the hell do would you want to be locked in here?" Adria demanded "Don't you know what happens to prisoners after they turn eighteen? by the look of you, you're not far off."<br>Wells paused briefly to compose himself feeling his frustration growing "I just need to get arrested."  
>"I'm not going to get an explanation am I?"<br>"No"  
>"Then why should I help you?" Adria was starting to snarl now. What an arrogant tosser.<br>The dark skinned boy reached into his pocket and placed a small golden ring in the centre of the table. Adria recognised it immediately, it was her mother's wedding ring. Her eyes widened in disbelief, the ring had been confiscated when the council had floated her mother. How had he got it? Adria reached across the table and touched the metal band, as if testing to see if it was actually there.  
>"How did you get this?" Immediately she was suspicious.<br>"My father's the chancellor" he offered simply. Adria could see she wouldn't be getting any other explanation, she also knew if she wanted to keep the ring she would have to help the chancellor's son.  
>"It's not hard you know." She said in fake nonchalance, gripping the metal in her hand as if afraid that it would somehow disappear. Wells nodded reaching back inside his jacket and pulling out what appeared to be a hilt of a knife. Once she had seen it he quickly concealed it again looking around to see if he had been spotted.<br>"You can't be serious!" Adria exclaimed "They'll throw me in solitary" she added quieter this time as a few heads turned in their direction.  
>"Five minutes!" called the guard at the door, his eyes sweeping over the room looking for any sign of argument.<br>Wells eyes flicked towards the guard and back the Adria, a new sense of urgency entered him. This was his last chance to get himself into the space box.  
>"You won't be there long"<br>Adria opened her mouth to argue but stopped, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. It was clear that even though he was a jerk, he knew something that she didn't – that not being hard since she had been locked up for the last few years.  
>"Alright times up, all prisoners form a line!"<br>The sound of chairs scrapping the floor echoed around the room as everyone got up from their seats, prisoners heading back towards the skybox and visitors in the other direction. "Give me the knife" Adria whispered pushing her mother's ring onto her finger, she didn't know why but something in the back of her mind told her to trust him. The boy reached back in his pocket and as quickly as he could slid the knife across the table, without a second thought Adria picket it up and placed it in the waist line of her pants, stood nodded at the chancellor's son and headed towards the already forming line.

"Next." Adria stepped up, taking a breath knowing that at any moment the prison guard patting her down would find her concealed weapon. She silently hoped that her trust in Wells had not been misplaced and it had truly been sincerity in his eyes. What reason did he have to send her solitary confinement, she had never before spoken two words to the boy. And yet she had chosen to trust him. The word idiot played over and over on mental repeat.  
>Hands finally stopped on her waist and her shirt was pulled slightly up revealing the hilt of the badly concealed knife, "What's this?" the knife was taken from her waistband and help up by the guard searching her. Two sets of hands came behind her and gripped her arms tightly. Adria didn't fight as she was pulled aside to face Officer Connors, whose face lit up at the sight of the knife in his officers hands. Adria didn't listen as Connors ranted while waving the knife in front of her face, catching the attention of other prisoners as they were rushed through the door.<br>"...Put her in solitary, arrest the boy" a new sense of dread rested in Adira's stomach and she could only hope that Wells had somehow been telling the truth and she wouldn't be there long. Tightening the hold on her arms, the guards led her through the door and into the mass of the gathered prisoners. she didn't fight as they led her though the crowd. As they carted her towards the solitary confinement wing she caught the faces of Monty and Jasper, as they watched on with the same shocked expression.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for the review and favorites. Hope you like this chapter. :)  
>I would also like to thank Zoe, for editing this chapter. <strong>

Chapter two:

Three days, nine hours and 28 minutes in solitary confinement. Adria didn't think she would miss general population, but after three days she was sick of it. The cells was much like her old one, grey walls, single bed, but this was so much worse. At least in her old cell she was free to leave it during the day, all she could do now was sit around and wonder what everyone else was doing. Not having anyone to converse with even made her miss her cellmate, Rona who could talk your ear off.  
>What had possibly compelled her to take the knife? She couldn't even answer that question, having no idea why she had taken it.<p>

Wells was nothing to her, and was the son of the chancellor!

Just as Adria was about to circle her cell for a fifth time the lock clicked from the outside and the door swung open.

"Prisoner 142, face the wall." Two guards had stepped into the room, one carrying a silver box.  
>Panic set into Adria's stomach, was this it? Where they going to float her? But she wasn't 18 yet, there had to be some sort of mistake. They couldn't float her yet, it was against the law. The thought did come to her that the council had decided she was more trouble than she was worth, and since it was so close to her birthday why not get it over with.<br>"Face the wall" the first repeated as his counterpart had opened a small silver box and had taken out a matching silver wrist band. Slowly Adria turned to face the wall her stomach flipping, what was going on?  
>Adria jumped when Guard one spoke from right behind her<br>"hold out your right arm."  
>Without thinking she lifted her right arm, wincing as the bracelet was locked around her wrist. Without another word one of the guards grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her through the door out into the hallway. To her surprise it wasn't only her that was being ushered out of their cells, it seemed that the entire population of the skybox were being led out.<br>"What's going on" Adria muttered to herself.  
>The prisoners were ushered down into the rec room which was surrounded by it's security, Aria was surprised to see Doctor Griffin standing next to Officer Connors at the head of the room. Adria pushed through the noisy crowd hoping to spot Monty or Jasper, but was having no luck. The sound of the panicked inmates was overwhelming, no one knew what was going on.<br>"Adria!" at the sound of her name Adria spun and spotted Jasper who was waving his hands frantically trying to get her attention. Monty stood at his side and waved at her signalling her to come over. Nodding her head Adria began making her way towards her friends who just so happened to be on the other side of the room, which was full of 97 other prisoners.  
>Growling in annoyance at having to shove yet another person from her path, Adria finally reached her friends. Immediately she threw her arms around the boys and squeezed them tightly to her.<br>"I never thought solitary would make me miss you guys"  
>"Thanks…I think" Jasper laughed, pulling away.<br>"Do you guys have any idea what's going on?"  
>"I wish I knew" Monty spoke letting out a small sigh. The room noise died to a light murmur as the last of the children had been led into the room. Officer Connors stepped forward and cleared his throat and waited for a tense silence to fall around the room.<br>"Welcome, I am pleased to announce in a few minutes you will all be released" the mutters started up again as everyone looked around in confusion. Released? Just like that? Connors smirked and continued "If you would all please form an orderly line, Doctor Griffin will check your vital signs at the door and you'll be on your way."  
>No body moved. It all seemed too good to be true, they were going to be released without a retrial. It didn't make any sense. Connors let out a frustrated growl and nodded his head slightly, on command the guards surrounding the room all withdrew their batons, the electric buzz making people jump. "Form a line!"<br>Reluctantly the crowd began to form a line, not wanting to fall victim to the electric batons. Once everyone was in place the line was moved out of the prison and walked a short distance to a hanger which appeared to be docked by an exodus ship. The doors were open and the line began to move into the ship. Doctor Griffin stood at the door and was looking over everyone's wristbands as they entered the ship.

The door had been closed and the ship sat in a tense silence. No one knew what was happening, all they had been told was they were being 'released.' Which by the looks of things meant they were going to be launched into space.  
>Adria stood between Jasper and Monty, the three had opted to be strapped to the wall instead of the seats. Across the room Adria noticed another familiar face, Wells. This was it. It must be. This is why he wanted to get himself arrested, he somehow knew this was going to happen. That thought settled her nerves slightly, knowing that the chancellor wouldn't allow his son to die. At least she didn't think he would. As if sensing her eyes, Wells turned his head and spotted her across the room, the pair locked eyes for a moment before the dark skinned boy smiled slightly and nodded in a sort of greeting. Again this helped to reassure her that they would be okay.<br>She nodded back acknowledging him before leaning back against the wall and took a calming breath.  
>Jasper and Monty shared a confused glance, having seen the exchange between the two "What was that about?"<br>"What was what?" Adria answered keeping her eyes shut.  
>"You and Jaha" Jasper added suggestively nudging her with his elbow and wiggling his eyebrows. Monty snorted loudly.<br>Suddenly the ship jumped to life earning a few frightened gasps from its passengers, Adria let out a shaky breath as her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. They were moving! Screens around the ship had come to life, and began to play a recording of chancellor Jaha.  
>The Chancellor looked grave as he began to address the prisoners, in the pre-recorded video.<br>"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me" the room had quietened slightly at the sound of his voice, after giving everyone the chance to listen he spoke again. "You have been given a second chance. And as your chancellor it is my hope that you see this as not a chance for you, but a chance for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If odds of survival were better we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable." Adria snorted, _Oh Chancellor __ever the optimist. _Several of the other prisoners yelled across the ship to Wells letting him know what they thought about his father.

Although it was good to know they were being sent somewhere rather than be left to float in space until the oxygen ran out. Meaning the only logical explanation was they were being sent back down to the surface. The thought scared Adria, the Earth had been thought to be uninhabitable for the past 97 years. It had to mean that the council had to have at least some hope the 100 could survive the surface, unless they didn't care if they lived or died.

"The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years" Jaha continued seriously, only a few seemed to be listening to the recording.

Most had become distracted by the prisoner named Finn who had removed his seat belt and was floating around the cabin space. Finn was well known among the inmates, he had taken an unauthorized spacewalk and in doing so lost a month of oxygen. Finn was followed by another two releasing their belts, and listened to none of the warnings they were given to get back to their seats.

"They're going to get themselves killed" Adria thought out loud watching as they floated around and were being egged on by the other passengers.

Jasper didn't see what the problem with a little bit of fun "Let them have their fun, Ads. We've all been locked up so long most of us have forgotten what fun is like." Adria could see where her long-time friend was coming from, but they could have fun when they reached the ground safely. If they reached it.

A sudden jolt sent the three floating boys flying across the ship, hitting the walls with an awful thud. The cabin erupted into chaos as frightened children screamed and yelled. Adria took hold of Monty and Jasper's hands and gripped them tightly, shutting her eyes and willing the ship to land. Adria thought she might throw up as they continued their fast descent towards the surface, there were no signs of the slowing down.

Abruptly the ship slowed as the retrorockets kicked in and a moment later the ship touched down not too gently. The cabin went black for a moment as the sound of the machines working stopped. Everyone sat in silence for a moment as the lights slowly flickered on.

**Thanks for reading, let me know what you think. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well here's chapter three, hope you guys enjoy it. R&R **

Chapter three:

Once again there was a tense silence, no one moved. Monty was the first to speak "Listen. No machine hum." Adria listened carefully for the familiar signs of the working machines but found none. The children took this as a sign that it was finally safe to remove their belts and began to unbuckle them, it seemed those sitting in the upper floor had the same idea as they began to climb down the ladder to the lower level. Monty was the first of the three friends to get his belt undone and moved to help Jasper who had seemed to tangle his in the process of getting it undone. Adria had only a little trouble yet managed to release herself before Monty managed to free Jasper. By the time all three of them were free the second level was all clear.

The lower level was overflowing with teenagers all anxious to get out of the ship. The floor was full and those not quick enough down the ladders were left hanging off them, which was the position Adria found herself in. Somehow Jasper and Monty had managed to push themselves through the crowd and to the front where there seemed to be an argument about opening the ships door. Forcing her way into the crowd Adria found herself closer to the front but on the other side of the ship to her two friends who were smirking in her direction, _Idiots _Adria thought rolling her eyes at them.  
>Adria only caught the last part of the argument from a boy that seemed just a little too old to be there "If the air is toxic, we're all dead, anyway."<br>Adria didn't particularly like the sound of that. "Bellamy?" everyone turned to see a brown haired girl jumping from the ladder, the other prisoners parted as she made her way towards the guy, Adria now assumed was Bellamy. Everyone watched as the pair embraced one another tightly, Adria guessed they may have been dating. A blonde headed girl stepped in breaking up the reunion, "Where's your wristband?" Looking at the blonde, Adria recognised her, she was Clarke Griffin. Adria had only met the girl once on a visit to the medical wing on a day when Clarke happened to helping her mother.  
>She hadn't been partially keen on the blonde.<br>"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year."  
>Brother? That was impossible no one on the Ark was permitted to have more than one child. Admittedly the pair looked similar both sharing the same dark coloured eyes.<br>"No one has a brother!" a boy from the back of the room called, voicing everybody's thoughts.  
>"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor" another voice called. Octavia Blake, the name rang a bell.<br>Octavia didn't take well to the comment and launched herself towards the group attempting the reach the outspoken teen. Her attempts were stopped by Bellamy who caught hold of her and pulled her back  
>"Octavia, Octavia, no" his calming voice seemed to do the trick as she slowed her struggles against him. "Let's give them something else to remember you by."<br>"Yeah? Like what?"  
>Bellamy gave his sister a smile "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years" with that he turned and pulled a lever. The door opened with a hiss as the cabin depressurised, forming a ramp to the ground.<br>Adria was looked out of the open door in awe at the ground, it was so green. They were surrounded by trees, it was so beautiful. Being so enchanted by the look of their people's old world, Aria hadn't noticed Octavia had made her way slowly down the ramp and had stepped off onto the ground.  
>Octavia took a deep breath of air it was so different from the oxygen on the Ark, down here it tasted fresh.<br>"We're back, bitches!" without needing any further prompting cheers erupted throughout the group as they all ran from the ship.  
>Adria had never thought she would feel anything but the cold metal floors of the Ark beneath her feet. Now here she was standing on the ground, surrounded by endless green. Even with her heavy boots she could still feel the softness of the ground beneath her. Breathing real air was such a different experience to the bitter taste of recycled air that their people had all lived on for the last 97 years. Her eyes alight with wonder, the former prisoner walked further into the trees, reaching out to touch them. Most of the trees were covered in a moss that made the forest look even more enchanting. Looking around Adria recognized plants she had read about in books, being a part of the Argo station did have its benefits. It felt as if she was in a dream, a dream that she would wake up from any moment and find herself locked back in her cell. Wanting to feel the soil Adria got to work at pulling her boots off, which were quickly followed by her socks. There was soil on the Ark of course used to grow their food, but that was nothing compared to this. Picking up her boots she began to walk slowly further into the forest enjoying the feeling of grass and dirt against her bare feet.<p>

It wasn't long until the newly freed prisoners took to arguing among themselves – it seemed Clarke Griffin wasn't good at making friends. Adria had been snapped out of her trance prematurely and reluctantly left the wonder of the trees to join the crowd forming at the dropship.  
>By the time she had reached the crowd the argument seemed to be in full swing with Clarke arguing with the Blake's.<br>"We need to get to Mount Weather. Not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave. Now."  
>Bellamy didn't seem to be convinced of the urgency "I got a better idea" he glanced around at the gathered crowd before continuing "You three go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." The would-be leader got the reaction he desired from the crowd in a chorus of "Yeah."<br>Taking the chance at painting a target on her back Adria spoke "Has anyone checked the ship? Did they send anything down with us?" eyes turned in her direction and she immediately felt uncomfortable, Clarke shook her head "There's nothing."  
>"You're not listening," Wells insisted "We all need to go!" Adria was glad that the attention now left her.<br>"Look at this everybody!" Murphy who had housed the cell next to Adria's, spoke coming up behind Wells and shoving him roughly "The Chancellor of Earth." A fight erupted between to two boys which began with Murphy giving Wells a hard kick to the knee which sent the dark skinned boy to the ground. Pushing his pain aside Wells got to his feet preparing to fight, Murphy looked on in amusement sending a sarcastic smile to the onlookers.  
>Suddenly Finn leaped from the top of the drop ship landing in between the two fighters, the once cheering crowd now stood silent some hoping that a new fight would erupt.<br>"Kids got one leg" Finn pointed out "why don't you wait until it's a fair fight?"  
>Murphy debated it for a moment before turning to walk away, obviously deciding to continue to fight at a later date. Whether Wells was healed by then was still yet to be seen. The crowd dispersed seeing the excitement was over.<br>Adria found herself sitting against a trunk of a thick tree her eyes closed, listening to the other people around her. Everyone seemed to be rather restless still celebrating their landing, even with the noise Adria managed to find peace and relax.  
>"You up for an adventure?" groaning Adria opened her eyes and looked up at an excited looking Jasper and Monty. Jasper smiled widely in obvious excitement, a few meters behind her friends stood Clarke, Finn and Octavia obviously waiting for Jasper and Monty to join them.<br>Clarke looked over at the trio with impatience, they didn't have much time if they wanted to reach Mount Weather before dark – the sooner they left the better.  
>"Does this adventure involve a long walk through the woods with those charming looking folks?" Adria questioned nodding in the direction of the waiting teens.<br>"Indeed it does." Monty agreed sounding a little less excited than the boy with the googles.  
>"In that case…"Adria made a show of raising slightly from the ground before collapsing heavily "I'll pass"<br>Her two friends let out a synchronised groan "Come on Ads, it'll be fun" Jasper whined making the girl smile slightly.  
>"You guys go on, have fun. I think I'll stay right here" Adria concluded shuffling to get herself comfortable again. Monty opened his mouth to argue but stopped when Clarke decided they had waiting long enough and called out to them to hurry it along. Seeing they would not convince her to move the boys relented saying a quick goodbye before departing.<br>Adria knew she had made the right call, the idea of going on a long trek into the forest after just being launched from space did not make the idea at all appealing. All she want was a nice, quiet and relaxing rest of the day.

Although it seemed she was doomed as after the group had departed one Wells Jaha limped over and plopped himself down next to her, making sharp gasping sounds of pain as he did so. The pair where quiet for a while, neither knowing what to really say to the other –They certainly weren't friends heck not even acquaintances, what were they supposed to say to each other?  
><em>So I got you arrested after all? How's that working out for you?<br>_"It's so surreal" Wells finally spoke not sure to expect a response. Instead of giving an answer Adria grunted in agreement, leaning her head against the hard bark of the tree.  
>"Look, I just wanted to thank you for helping me."<br>"You knew this would happen. You knew they were sending us down here"  
>"Yea, heard Dad talking about it with Kane." Kane was the head of security on the Ark of course he would be involved in the decision to send 100 delinquents to Earth. "When I found out I knew I had to find a way to get down here for Clarke"<br>"Clarke!" Adria sat up and looked at the boy questionable "You got yourself arrested for a girl?"

She couldn't believe that Wells Jaha son of the Chancellor would get himself arrested for a girl. From what she had seen from the interaction between the two, they didn't seem to share a healthy relationship. In fact Clarke seemed to resent Wells being there at all.  
>Wells let out a breathy chuckle "Yea, couldn't leave her down her by herself."<br>"I don't know if you noticed but Clarke seems to be doing fine."  
>Wells knew where she was coming from and didn't know how to respond so the pair just sat in silence, watching the other delinquents move around their new camp site.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took a while. Thanks for the favs and the follows. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter Four:

Within an hour of Clarke's party leaving the crash site, Bellamy had already started collecting followers. So far Murphy and his lackey John seemed to have been convinced to help their "would be leader" gather support.  
>The first order of business was convincing everyone to remove their wristbands, which just so happened to be broadcasting their vital signs to the Ark. It appeared one Bellamy Blake didn't want any others following them down. Although Adria didn't particularly like most of the people on the Ark she didn't agree with making people think they were all dying down here.<p>

She watched from her tree as people lined up to have their wristbands removed by Murphy and his squad of goons. Adria wouldn't trust them not to hack her hand off by mistake, but that didn't seem to stop the other teens.

Adria didn't know Wells had disappeared to but after their rather awkward conversation he had vanished into the forest, mentioning something about finding water. He had asked her to go with him, but the idea of walking awkwardly looking for a water supply did not particularly sound like fun.  
>Roars of approval erupted as yet another wristband was pulled from a wrist of a girl that Adria didn't recognise. The wristband was tossed into the fire with the rest that had been successfully ripped from others wrists.<p>

Adria wondered where Jasper and Monty were, and how their trek to Mount Weather was going. She didn't regret staying behind but couldn't help but worry about her two station friends who were off somewhere in the middle of a forest trying to locate their food supply.  
>Adria eyes swept the camp and spotted her cellmate Rona sitting down to have her wristband removed. Rona was always someone that Adria considered to be open and overly chatty and always seemed to have a smile on her face. Rona was on the short side with bright red hair and a freckled face. Rona winced as Murphy roughly pulled up his makeshift crowbar snapping open the band that encased her wrist. The onlookers let out yet another cheer.<br>Wells who had been on his way back to the drop sight ran towards the fire  
>"What the hell are you doing?"<br>"We're liberating ourselves. What does it look like" Bellamy announced sounding pleased with what he had accomplished so far.  
>"It looks like you're trying to get us killed"<p>

At the sign of yet another confrontation Adria pushed herself to her feet and moved in behind Wells as if to guard his back.  
>"The communication system is dead. These wristbands are all we got. Take them off, and the Ark will think we're dying, that it's not safe for them to follow."<br>A few of the former inmates looked around sporting worried expressions, obviously Bellamy had not fully explained what they were doing. Others in the group looked at Bellamy for answers, seeing the worried looks Bellamy chuckled humorously  
>"That's the point, Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves, can't we?"<br>A large portion of the group agreed calling out their support.  
>"You think this is a game? Those aren't just our friends and our parents up there. They're farmers, our doctors, our engineers. I don't care what he tells you" he addressed the crowd "We won't survive here on our own, and besides, if it really is safe, how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"<br>More worried expressions were exchanged around the tree filled area, Bellamy knew he had to act fast in order to pacify the rapidly spreading anxiety.  
>"My people are already down!" he called indicating to the people who stood behind him, even going as far to nod in Adria's direction – <em>You're a clever one.<em> "Those people locked my people up. Those people killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that."  
>Any who had thought of siding with Wells were no longer so sure. Many of the people standing around the fire had lost their loved ones to the laws that the Chancellor enforced, Adria one of them having lost her mother.<br>"My father didn't write the laws."  
>"No" Bellamy agreed "But he enforced them. But not anymore, not here." He turned now addressing 'his' people "Here, he has no jurisdiction. Here, there are no laws!"<br>That did it the entire group erupted in shouts of "Yeahs" and hoots of agreement, any support Wells had gained was now lost to the thought of permitted rebellion– the right to do whatever whenever they pleased.  
>"Here, we do whatever the hell we want whenever the hell we want. Now, you don't have to like it. You can try and stop it or change it, kill me. You know why? Whatever the hell we want!"<br>"Whatever the hell we want!" echoed around the camp as the delinquents joined in with the phrase. Adria could admit Bellamy was good at getting people to side with, getting them to see things from his point of view. And she herself was not stupid, it was obvious Bellamy had been chosen as a sort of unofficial leader and if she wanted to survive the pack mentality she had to follow the crowd.  
>Bellamy glanced over Wells shoulder at her looking at her kind of expectantly "Whatever the hell we want" she said. Wells looked at her in surprise, he barely knew her it was true but he thought he had judged her character better than this.<br>As if the heavens agreed they opened with a crash of thunder and rain began to fall. Adria closed her eyes and reached up feeling the cool liquid fall.

_So this is what rain feels like._

She opened her mouth catching as much water as she could, quenching her thirst – not realising how thirsty she had truly been. The others seemed to be doing much the same some even dancing in it, never having felt the rain before heck never even seeing it before now.

"We need to collect this" Wells said sounding as in awe as the rest of the group.  
>"Whatever the hell you want."<p>

Adria had volunteered to help Wells collect the falling water and together they had created a makeshift bucket made from sticks and a jacket of one of the dead boys from the dropship. The bucket was nearly full by the time the rain stopped, it should be enough to last until they were able to find a nearby water supply.

Now that the rain had stopped everyone had found a spot and settled down for the night. The ground was still damp and a little cold Adria noticed as she tossed and turned trying to find a more comfortable position – the ground felt hard and lumpy, making her miss her cell bed a little. But she reminded herself that she was now free on the ground, away from her prison and nothing would take her back there. No comfort could make up for captivity.

Adria had been invited by Rona to sleep with her and a group of people she had befriended in dropship. Reluctant at first she had checked with Wells to see where he would be sleeping and they had both agreed to sleep within sight of one another.

Adria couldn't sleep. The unfamiliar environment wasn't helping either. Sighing in annoyance she rolled onto he back and looked up at the clear night sky, smiling when she spotted the Ark masquerading as a bright star.

Yet again she found herself thinking about her father. Even though he had refused to visit her in the skybox she wondered if he cared that she was no longer a walk down the hall away. Wondered if he even knew she was gone. Her father Richard Harris was a farmer on the Ark and dedicated his life to feeding its population. Adria could still remember the look on his face when he had found out she was being arrested. Never before had she seen such a look of disappointment on his face. Not that she would admit it to anyone, not even Jasper or Monty, but she truly missed her father, and it had hurt to think that he had not wanted to see her. Being so far away knowing that if Bellamy got his way she would never see him again.

A snapping twig made her shoot up from the ground looking around frantically, the thought had not occurred to her until now there might be creatures living in the forest surrounding them.  
>Her frantic heart slowed when she glanced towards Wells seeing that he was speaking quietly to a form standing above him. Looking closer Adria noticed that it Bellamy, what was he up to?<p>

Wells got to his feet brushing himself off and the pair began to walk through the sleeping forms of the other teens.  
>"Wells" Adria called as quietly as possible trying not to wake those who slept next to her, although it appeared to have done the trick as both the standing figures were now coming her way.<br>"Everything okay?" Adria questioned worriedly when the two had stopped a few feet away from her.  
>Wells smiled slightly at her concerned voice and nodded "Yeah, just going for a walk."<br>"Don't worry Doll, we'll be fine" Bellamy added seeing the look of concern on her face, hoping to convince the suspicious girl he meant no harm.  
>Adria rose her eyebrow, <em>did he just call me Doll? What an ass! <em>She fumed silently.  
>"Everything's fine. Go back to sleep" Wells reassured her, taking a step back.<br>"Fine"  
>With that she lay back down closing her eyes. What did she care if anything happened to him? He meant nothing to her, and he was Jaha's son. He wasn't her responsibility.<br>Adria listened to their footfalls walking towards the tree line until the sound disappeared altogether. She listened for what seemed like forever for any sign of the boys returning but none came. Finally the feeling of tiredness washed over her and she slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

Adria shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. The fire had almost gone out during the night and the cool morning air settled throughout the camp. Failing to warm herself, Adria stood slowly and stretched wincing at the pain in her back from sleeping on the hard ground.

Looking around she noticed most of the camp's population were still sleeping while a few who had been woken by the cold had moved closer to the dying fire. Why no one had thought to put more wood on it was beyond her.  
>Adria noticed Rona, her old red headed cellmate, was huddled close to the fire blowing into her hands. Noticing her, Rona smiled brightly and waved Adria over. Adria groaned and took a seat next to Rona, making sure to put some distance between the pair of them.<br>"Good morning!" Adria winced at the other girl's enthusiasm – _Who is this cheerful in the morning? _Rona didn't seem to mind the lack of response and smiled brightly. Rona was just one of those people who found the positive in every situation and always found a reason to smile. The idea that someone could be happy all the time irritated Adria to no end, yet she could not find it in herself to dislike the redhead.  
>"You'll never guess what I saw early this morning"<br>_It still __**is**__ early _Adria wanted to say.  
>"Bet I won't" she settled with saying, rubbing her eyes tiredly with the palm of her hands. Rona looked around smiling a glint of mischief in her eye "Carrie, leaving the dropship" she giggled.<br>"So?"  
>Rona giggled "Bellamy's claimed the dropship for himself" Rona urged expecting Adria to catch on.<br>"And?" sighing in slight annoyance, she shuffled closer leaning over and whispering in the other girl's ear "So, she and Bellamy…spent the night together."  
><em>Of course that would be it.<br>_"That's bound to happen" Adria said "Trust me she won't be the last."  
>Rona rose her eyebrows in confusion "What do you mean?" Adria put some distance between them and glanced around seeing they had caught the attention of several others warming themselves. <em>Great. <em>  
>"It's no secret Blake has nominated himself as the leader of our little band of delinquents. Which means whomever gives him, shall we say…favours, falls under his protection."<br>The redhead looked towards the dropship with interest before smiling brightly and turning back towards the smouldering fire.

**Feedback would be appreciated, thanks :D **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five:

By the time the sun had reached its highest point in the sky everyone was up and about. No one seemed to be interested in making their makeshift camp any more liveable – if you could call it a camp at all.

All that had been accomplished a several small fire pits and a water bucket (made from a jacket) that was slowly losing water through its seams. Adria had grown frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm from the other former prisoners to improve their living conditions and found it even more frustrating that she had been agreeing with Wells. He had made an appearance a few hours earlier, intact but was now missing his wristband.

"Where the hell is it?" Adria demanded lifting the taller boys arm to inspect his band-less wrist, cringing when she noticed several small cuts he'd received in the scuffle. Wells huffed yanking his arm free of her gasp and pulled his sleeve down.  
>"Bellamy" was his simple answer.<br>_Obviously – _Adria resisted the urge to it out loud.  
>Bellamy didn't want the people left on the Ark to come down and the perfect way to stop it was by making the chancellor think his own son was dead. She had to give him credit for managing to pry the damn thing off Wells' arm against his will. It was only now Adria noticed he had a shovel in hand and was covered in a light layer of dirt<br>"This may be a stupid question, but why are you carrying around a shovel? Planning on hitting Bellamy with it?" the thought made her smile brightly. Wells gave her a concerned look and shook his head slowly  
>"Dug the graves for the kids on the dropship"<br>Her amusement immediately disappeared as she thought about the two boys that still lay dead, feeling bad that even she had forgotten about them.  
>"You need any help?" the offer caught the chancellor's son by surprise, but he quickly agreed not wanting to carry them across camp by himself.<p>

Getting the bodies off the drop ship had been the easiest part, someone else had taken the time to move them from the second level to the first and had covered them with a torn off piece of parachute. The pair lugged the bodies with some difficulty through camp, trying to avoid the youngest members of the group.

Adria looked down at the bodies as they lay beside their freshly drug graves, it wasn't fair. They had all been given a second chance and these two boys would never get to experience it for themselves.  
>Wells took a deep breath almost preparing himself for what he was about to do and pulled the parachute from the bodies, almost gagging when the smell of rotting flesh hit him.<br>Adria placed a hand over her mouth and nose, tears welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was out of sadness or just done in hope of shielding her senses from the smell.

After taking a moment to regain control of himself the dark skinned boy knelt down and began tearing the jacket and shirt from the body closest to him.  
>"What are you doing?" Adria demanded grabbing hold of his hands in hopes of stopping him.<br>"They don't need them anymore" he tried to reason softly "And we do." Not waiting for a reply he brushed her hand off and continued with his task. Adria stood back and watched as he robbed the bodies of their shirts and, jacket and boots, she could see the logic in this task but it felt wrong stealing from the dead.  
>"Give me a hand" Wells said in an authoritative voice as he took hold of the first boy's arms and began dragging him to one of the holes. Trying not to think about what she was doing Adria took hold of the dead boy's legs and helped lower him into the hole.<p>

Adria watched as Wells finished filling the holes up, her stomach churning, remembering she had just helped bury two bodies – two children.  
>"You ok?" the questioned caught her off guard.<br>Was she ok? Would she ever be ok?  
>Not knowing how to answer she nodded her head slowly. Wells accepted this and stood picking up the items they had scavenged from the dead bodies of their own people.<br>"I'm gonna take a walk" she muttered, she needed time to herself to think.  
>"Need me to come?"<br>Adria shook her head, turned and walked further into the woods before the chancellor's son could say another word.  
>Wells watched her go with slight concern, it hadn't occurred to him that she would be so affected.<br>But then again who was he too make that judgment? After all the pair barley knew each other.  
>With a sigh he tucked the newly gathered gear under his armpit and headed back towards the camp.<p>

The trees were now Adria's new sanctuary. Being surrounded by the endless green made her feel at peace within herself, all thoughts of dead boys and graves leaving her mind.  
>Back on the Ark whenever she needed to escape there was a spot in the old engineering block that had been closed off to the main population. It was just a place where she could go and sit in the quiet, a place where no one would bother her.<p>

The block had been sealed off meaning the only way to get in was through the ventilation shafts, which was dangerous enough but add that with a high chance of getting caught made it almost impossible for Adria to sneak away. But on the ground there was literally just open space, she didn't have to crawl in tight ventilations shafts to get to quiet place to be alone. All she had to do was take a few steps away from the dropship and she could be alone with her thoughts.

The teen couldn't help but be amazed at the height of the tallest trees and the colours of flowers some of the plants were sprouting. Looking around she could name most of the different species of plants. Maybe being in farming section did have its advantages.

A sudden screech echoed through the trees making her jump.  
>Without a second thought Adria took off running back towards the camp, hoping that whoever screamed hadn't been badly hurt – not wanting to have to bury another person so soon.<br>It seemed the rest of the delinquents had heard the noise and were all converging in one spot, Adria pushed her way through the crowd and not surprised to see that Wells seemed to have got himself into another confrontation with Bellamy and his goons.

Murphy was stood at the ready with a homemade shiv, which looked like it had been made from the metal of the dropship. A weapon that looked jagged enough to do some real damage as well.  
>Why did it not surprise her that the first thing John Murphy would do was fashion himself a weapon? <p>

Bellamy decreed the fight between the pair was to be a fair one and provided Wells with his own knife, which he picked up reluctantly. Much to the disappointment of the gathered crowd it hadn't been much of a fight with Wells gaining the upper hand quickly locking Murphy in a headlock, knife held closely to the other boy's throat.

This was when Clarke's voice called out "Wells"  
>Adria felt a wave of relief knowing that her two station friends were finally back.<br>"Let him go" Clarke ordered making her way down the side of a steep slope towards the crowd with, Finn trailing behind her. Adria caught sight of Monty who was aiding a limping Octavia down the hill –_Where's Jasper _she wondered looking for any sign of him further up the hill.

Wells shoved Murphy roughly to the ground, Murphy was back on his feet quickly and threw himself towards the chancellor's son.  
>During the years Adria and Murphy had been cell neighbours, she had come to know him well, and knew the teen was prone to wild burst of violence and rage. But in the skybox whenever Murphy picked a fight it seemed to be out of boredom, never had she seen such a look of hatred on his face, that he know showed for Wells.<p>

Before Murphy could reach his target Bellamy caught hold of him "Wait, enough, Murphy." On command Murphy relaxed and sent Wells a hateful glare.  
>Bellamy looked up and caught site of his sister being half carried down the slope and rushed to her aid, taking her from Monty's grasp.<p>

_Still no sign of Jasper _

"Where's the food?" Bellamy questioned once he had sat Octavia down on a fallen trees log, checking her over with concern. Finn and Clarke shared a look before the boy spoke "We didn't make it to Mount Weather."  
>Adria noticed that the entire party looked physically drained, as if they had made the journey back to camp a lot quicker than leaving it.<p>

Adria moved closer through the crowd until the was on the flat ground and headed over to were Monty stood, bending over obviously exhausted from lugging Octavia along. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a questioning look when her peered up at her.  
>He looked sad…and worried.<p>

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded. Everyone had gone quiet wanting an explanation as to why they would have to go another day without food.  
>"We were attacked" Clarke finally admitted. Adria snapped her head towards her.<br>_Attacked? _It immediately clicked, they had been attack and there was no sign of Jasper.  
>Was he dead?<p>

"By what?"  
>"No what." Finn corrected tiredly "Who."<br>It made no sense no one had survived the war, there was no one on the ground. At least that was what they had been told. How could it be possible that they had been wrong for 97 years?  
>Was it even possible that anyone had survived?<br>Adria wanted to deny it, the Earth had been soaked in radiation leaving it in a state that the people on the Ark thought was uninhabitable. It just couldn't be possible.

"It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last grounder." Finn said, the surrounding crowd muttered in concern looking around as if to see one of these so called survivors.

"It's true." Clarke confirmed "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here. Survivors."  
>Clarke turned now to address the entire group "The good news is…that means we can survive, radiation won't kill us."<br>"The bad news is the grounder will." Finn muttered more to himself, but it was loud enough for the people closest to him to hear.

Adria turned away from Monty  
>"Where's Jasper?" Clarke looked at the girl in front of her with sympathy and sadness, Adria thought she could also see fear behind her eyes.<br>"Jasper was hit" her voice broke slightly.  
>Adria took a step back in shock and took a moment to compose herself, anger now settling over her "What do you mean <em>hit<em>?"  
>Clarke, hearing the anger in the other girl's voice, tried to sound as soothing as possible hoping to calm her<br>"They took him" her eyes catching a glance at Wells arm and realized his wristband was gone.

"Where's your wristband?" she demanded grabbing hold of his wrist. Wells pulled away in annoyance and nodded towards Bellamy  
>"Ask him."<br>Adria was fuming, was that it? Was that all the explanation she was going to get? Japer got hit and taken?

"That's it?" she called angrily regaining the attention of Clarke who spun to meet her angry face "He got hit, and you didn't even check to see if he was ok? You left him?"  
>The blond took a step back not knowing how to handle to other girl. Monty straightened quickly, taking hold of his friend's arm pulling her back and trying to comfort her at the same time.<br>He felt her pain, Jasper was his friend too. Jasper was like a brother to him.

"Not now Ads" he whispered rubbing her arm in a soothing manner hoping to defuse the growing tension that he felt between Clarke and Adria.  
><em>Not now? <em>Adria scoffed in anger and sadness, if not now when? Where they just going to leave Jasper out there? They weren't even going to be able to bury his body.

Seeing that Monty was now handling the other teen Clarke turned her attention back to the matter of the wristbands.  
>"How many?" she asked taking a step closer to the camps new elected leader.<p>

"Twenty-four and counting" Murphy offered up, sounding smug.  
>"You idiots." Clarke said quietly more to herself. "Life support on the Ark is failing" she addressed the crowd "That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again…And we need their help against whoever is out there."<p>

The former prisoners now looked unsure, they had already lost one of their own to this new threat the thought of having to face it alone didn't seem to appeal to them the more Clarke spoke.  
>"If you take off your wristbands, you're just killing them. You're killing us!" she exclaimed.<p>

Bellamy looked as cool and collected as ever, putting on a good face for his new followers "We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her" he said confidently. He moved from Octavia's side to further address those now listening to him.

Adria scowled in anger, Jasper was out there with this new found threat and here Bellamy and Clarke were arguing over leadership. At this point she didn't care who led them, she would follow whoever got Jasper back.

"She's one of the privileged" Bellamy told them. Adria couldn't argue with that, Clarke's mother was one of the leading doctors on the Ark. One of the people who in most minds got special treatment because of their positions.  
>"If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same?" he questioned, smiling to himself seeing he was not short on support. Many of the former prisoners had, had it rough on the Ark barely surviving on the limited rations they were provided. And many had lost their parents to the law on the Ark. Adria felt this pain as well.<p>

The crowd was mumbling in agreement urging him to continue "We can take care of ourselves, that wristband on your arm. It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore!"

"They say they'll forgive you of your crimes. I say you are not criminals!" Bellamy was good at this, a natural born leader. He knew it and so did those whom he was rallying. Bellamy could lead them and if he had his way, he would lead them.

"You're fighters, survivors! The grounders should worry about us!" this was met with calls of agreement. Clarke looked worried at the development, knowing she was defeated she took her leave, Finn following closely behind her.  
>* * * * *<p>

Adria filled a torn off piece of parachute with water, and hurried over to Monty who was leaning against one of the walls of the dropship. Water dripped through the thin material making Adria walk faster, getting to the Asian boy with enough water still in the make shift sack.

Monty drank quickly emptying the water-sack and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He was worn out but Adria wouldn't give him time to rest until she knew what had happened.  
>"What happened?"<p>

Monty exhaled loudly placing his head in his knees "The attack came out of nowhere" he admitted finally. He had replayed it again and again in his head but it still didn't make any sense to him.  
>Adria nudged him gently urging him to tell her more.<br>"We were at lake…we needed to cross it to get the trail for Mount Weather" he sounded distant as he was remembering the event again. "Jasper was showing off" he admitting laughing briefly to himself making Adria smile.

"There was a rope we had to swing across to get to the trail, Jasper went first" his eyes were waters but Adria didn't mention and lay her head on his shoulder. Monty followed her lead and rested his head on top of hers.  
>"He made it to the other side, we were celebrating" he paused taking a calming breath "The next thing I know he's hit with a spear…we didn't know what to do…we couldn't do anything…we ran."<p>

They sat in silence, Adria didn't know what to say she couldn't blame him for running leaving their friend behind. She knew if she had been in the same position that she would have run too.  
>But she couldn't help but wonder if she had agreed to go with them, would it have turned out any differently? Would Jasper still be gone?<p>

"He's alive" Monty told her finally sounding so sure of himself.  
>"How do you know?" Adria hadn't even realized she had been crying and wiped them quickly away and cleared her throat. Even though she wanted to believe her childhood friend was alive she didn't know if she could.<p>

"He screamed…as soon as we heard it we went back for him…I could have saved him" Monty told her, not quite believing himself.  
>"You would have saved him" Adria corrected lifting her head up looking him in the eyes, she couldn't blame him for this and she wouldn't.<br>"When we got there he was gone."

Neither spoke for a while finding comfort in the silence. It was hard to imagine life without Jasper, he had always had a goofy smile on his face no matter what was happening. And he always wore those stupid oversized goggles, Adria smiled just thinking about it.

Wells looked around with urgency trying to find Adria and Monty, he spotted the pair leaning against the side of the dropship. He hurried towards them dodging out of the way of other campers who were preparing weapons to defend themselves from the grounders.  
>Adria looked up as Wells stopped in front of them looking at him questioningly and in slight annoyance. <p>

"Were going to get Jasper."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone, thanks so much for the favs, follows and the reviews :D I hope you all are enjoying the story so far.  
>I have just started back at Uni so updates may not be as regular as I would like, but I will try to have them up as often as possible.<br>This chapter is not the best as I have rushed to get it done before I am crushed with tones of homework. **

Chapter Six:

Uneasiness rested in the pit in Adria's stomach, the search party had left camp but had lost few and gained some members. Clarke had decreed that Monty was to stay behind and try and figure out a way to communicate with the Ark. When Adria thought out about it she knew it was probably a good idea, but wouldn't admit it within hearing distance of Clarke. She had made sure to hug Monty tightly telling him she would bring Jasper back before she had left.

Much to her Adria's dismay, Clarke had recruited Bellamy and Murphy would trail behind.  
>Leaving her with two people she didn't trust behind her and two people she wasn't particularly fond of in front. Great. Not to mention the constant new threat of the grounders keeping her on edge, eyes flicking through the trees. She felt better knowing that she had a knife tucked safely in her left boot, pleased with herself when she managed to convince one of Bellamy's goons to lend it to her.<p>

They walked in mostly in silence for a good half an hour Clarke pushing them at a brisk pace which Adria was grateful for. At least someone seemed to want to find Jasper as much as she did.  
>Everyone else on the rescue party seemed to have their own motive.<br>Bellamy and Murphy were tagging along to help solidify their role at the top of the pack, bringing back Jasper would give the delinquents another reason to support them. Wells, on the other hand, had volunteered to come only so he could keep an eye on Clarke, and try to repair their broken friendship.

"Hey hold up! What's the rush?" Bellamy asked growing tired of walking "He's dead, you don't survive a spear to the heart." He waved his gun around for dramatic effect.  
>Adria eyed it cautiously wondering if the young man even knew how to use a gun, or if he just thought it made him look tough. Wells pushed his way in front of Clarke getting in Bellamy's face "Put the gun away, Bellamy."<br>"Why don't you do something about it, huh?" Murphy pushed Wells back, of course he would come to the defence of the guy that had provided him with power over the other prisoners.

_I've had enough of this! _

Adria pushed herself in the middle of the argument "Will you all **shut up!**"  
>Everyone fell silent all attention on her now.<br>For the first time she didn't feel nervous having everyone's eyes on her "I don't care what your problem is put I've had enough! We are out here to find Jasper, and I swear if any of you get in the way of that I'll shoot you all myself."  
>Clarke was the first to snap herself out of her momentary shock and nodded her head in agreement "She's right, we need to find Jasper." She turned and began walking away but was stopped when Bellamy grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back.<p>

"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go"  
>Clarke ripped herself from his gasp and glared back at him "The only way the Ark is gunna think I'm dead is if I'm dead."<br>Bellamy smirked "Brave princess."

"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" all turned to see Finn push through the bushes coming forward to join their party.  
>Adria scoffed, of course Finn would show up. She had a feeling that if they were given the task to expand their population Finn would be the first to volunteer for a partnership with Clarke.<br>And by the looks of how things were playing out Clarke would not object.

"You call this a rescue party?" Finn asked glancing around at the bickering band "Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, you're with me."  
><em>Oh I bet she is<br>_Adria allowed herself a moment of amusement before refocusing herself on her task of finding her friend. Clarke and Finn walked on ahead leaving the group behind. Wells looked after them in frustration, letting out a huff before nodding Adria over and heading after the others.

It seemed Wells had no intention of leaving Bellamy and Murphy unattended and Adria, not wanting to wonder off and get lost, stayed close. Taking the opportunity she distracted herself by looking over the plant life of the forest.

Already she had identified several plants that were edible and made a mental note to remember to come back and collect some later, amongst them there were plants that could be used for medicinal purposes even those which could be used as poison.  
>Ever since Adria had been small she had held great interest in the plants of her ancestor's old word, and what they could be used for.<br>It was her father that had encouraged her to pursue this knowledge, providing her with books from the ground on plant life, which had been saved. It had been his hope that his daughter would pass on the knowledge to her child as they would do to theirs. So that one day, when they returned to the ground, they would be equipped with the knowledge to survive off the land.

Shaking her head to refocus herself Adria caught Wells staring ahead longingly, it appeared Finn would have some opposition.  
>It appeared that she was not the only one to notice Wells interest, "I guess we've got more in common that meets the eye, ae?" Adria rolled her eyes.<br>The old 'we're not so different, you and I speech.' _Way for originality Bellamy.  
><em>Wells didn't seem to agree with the observation either  
>"We have nothing in common" was the simple response.<p>

Although the pair were almost polar opposites in Adria's opinion she could see some similarities between the two. Both had the skills and the knowledge to be leaders.  
>Where Bellamy was hard and almost cold, Wells showed compassion even towards those whom didn't deserve it.<br>And both watched over the ones that they cared about in face it had been this reason both of them had come to the ground.

Even though Wells had to ability to be a leader, Adria could not see him fulfilling this role.  
>He was way too soft and if it came down to it would give it all up for one person, where Bellamy seemed to be able to see the bigger picture knowing that the needs of the group were more important that the needs of one.<br>The older boy knew that as a pack they would have a higher chance of survival, knew that he had to keep to together no matter what the consequences.  
>This was their difference.<p>

"No?" Bellamy questioned sounding amused "Both came down to protect someone we love."  
>Wells turned to look at the older boy angry with himself for making his desire for the blonde girl so obvious.<br>Seeing Wells distress Bellamy chuckled quietly "Your secrets safe with me" he assured him.

Adria watched their interaction and wondered what Bellamy's angle was.  
>Obviously there was no friendship between them, Adria doubted they even remotely liked one another.<br>Murphy seemed equally as interested in the direction the conversation, the wondering pair locked eyes. Murphy gave her a small shrug and turned his attention back to his leader.  
>"Course, for you it's worse" Bellamy continued "With Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you. It's like you're not even here."<p>

Was that it? Adria wondered. Was that the speech that was supposed to get Wells on side?  
>If it was it hadn't been that good.<br>"You and I both know that's crap" Bellamy's head snapped in her direction "of course she notices he's there, it's kind of hard not to when he follows her round." Wells scowled not sure she was coming to his defence or had insulted him.  
>The dark skinned boy quickened his pace leaving the others behind, no longer interested in holding a conversation with any of them.<p>

After another ten minutes of walking Adria noticed that both Finn and Clarke had disappeared, no longer in view. She had not been the only one to notice as Wells was looking in every direction trying to find any sign of the blonde.  
>Wells turned back to his other companions almost silently asking if they had seen the pair disappear.<br>If Adria was honest she hadn't even been watching them, her attention was directed into the Greenery keeping an eye out for more useful plant life.  
>Bellamy and Murphy didn't at all seem bothered with Finn and Clarke's departure and were more than happy to be left unattended.<p>

"Relax, Chancellor, Blondey will be fine" Murphy snorted at Wells worry "Spacewalker will keep her safe."  
>If the comment was designed to wind Wells up it was working, he could just picture Clarke in some sort of danger and the dropship daredevil swooping into save her.<br>That was the last thing he needed of course Clarke's safety was important to him but if anyone would be in charge of keeping her safe it would be him.  
>Not wanting to give Murphy the satisfaction the Chancellors son pushed forward, not looking back at his tormentor.<br>* * * *

"This is a waste of time, the kid's dead" Murphy grumbled, they had been walking for hours and they had still yet to see any sign of the goggle wearing boy. Finn and Clarke were still MIA and he just wanted to get back to camp. Getting no response he continued  
>"We should head back, we're wasting our time."<br>"Be quiet, Murphy" Wells muttered, getting sick of hearing the other boy speak.  
>Murphy snorted "It's true, they're probably won't even be much of a body…grounders probably ate him" he laughed.<br>Having enough Adria spun to face him "**SHUT UP! **That's my friend you're talking about John Murphy" she announced sticking her finger in his face "Just keep your mouth."  
>Not having it in her to yell anymore, she turned around and starting walking away, trying to put as much distance as she could between them.<p>

Just then Clarke and Finn appeared from the brush "We've found fresh blood…Jasper can't be far." Clarke told them sounding pleased.  
>Adria let out a sigh of relief, finally they were getting somewhere.<br>The group followed behind as they were let out of the forest to a river, Adria walked to the water's edge kneeling down to splash her overheated face with water.  
>After showing them the blood the group moved off again as one with Finn at the helm occasionally kneeling down looking around the earth.<p>

Murphy seemed to be growing impatient at their constant stopping "How do we know this is the right way?" he asked.

"We don't" Bellamy told him "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

Wells eyed the pair in distaste before informing them Finn was using a tracking technique called 'cutting sign' and that he was quite good at it.  
>This gave Adria some comfort that at least someone knew where they were going, hopefully this would help them find Jasper quicker.<p>

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn snapped trying to concentrate on the ground. Adria had almost forgotten about the grounders, her eyes traveling over the trees. Finn knelt followed by Clarke who obviously didn't know what she was looking for.  
>Bellamy smirked at the interaction between the pair and leaned over to whisper to Wells<br>"See? You're invisible."

Wells didn't get a chance to reply when a distant moaning echoed around the trees.  
>Adria leant down, retrieving the knife from her boot, and held it close to her chest<br>"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke said, looking back at Bellamy who already held it. The possibility that grounders had made the sound made Adria grip the knife tighter, eyes scanning over the trees for any sign of danger.

They made it out into a clearing all stopping dead in their tracks when a large tree came into view.  
>Adria gasped when she noticed the tied body of Jasper hanging from its centre, the bound boy moaning in pain. His shirt had been taken off leaving him bare chested, his own blood covering his chest making the scene even more horrific. She was frozen in shock, they had been out all day looking for him and now when she had him in her sights she couldn't even move to help.<br>Bellamy tucked his gun into the back of his pants and began to follow after her.

Clarke however didn't wait but took off towards the tree, no one had been prepared for the ground to give way under Clarke's feet. Once the girl disappeared from sight everyone let out a collective gasp before running to the blonde's aid. It was a booby trap, deadly looking sharpened spikes stuck up from the ground. Clarke hung onto the side of the hole, crying out in fear.

"Clarke!" Finn yelled in panic "Get her up!"

Adria reached the hole grabbing hold of the other girls arm, but didn't have the strength to lift her to safety. Bellamy had Clarke in his grasp but he didn't move to pull her up, he looked as If he was deciding if he should just let her fall. Adria breathed heavily holding her grip tight, hoping to stop the girl from dropping if Bellamy suddenly let he go.

The would be leader seemed to snap out of it as Wells and Finn both neared calling for him to pull Clarke back over the edge. Finally reaching his decision Bellamy heaved with the aid of Adria and together they pulled her from the hole.  
>"You okay?" Finn asked worry still lacing his voice as he checked her over. Clarke nodded her head, eyeing Bellamy closely, she had seen it as well. Seen the contemplation on his face, she knew how close he had come to letting her die and now she knew how wary she would have to be around him.<p>

After a moment the group refocused itself to the task of getting Jasper down.  
>"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." Finn announced.<br>Wells nodded in agreement volunteering to aid him.  
>Finn shook his head "No. Stay with Clarke…and watch him"<br>Everyone's eyes flickered to Bellamy who had the audacity to look offended at Finn's tone. Wells nodded in agreement taking a place between Clarke and Bellamy hoping to protect her in case the other boy tried to hurt her.

"You" Finn said pointing to Murphy "Let's go"  
>Murphy looked to his leader for permission and once he received it he followed Finn towards the tree and the pair both began to climb.<p>

Adria stood at the base of the tree cringing as the boys roughly cut away at the vines holding Jasper to the tree. Clarke came up beside her, squinting up the boys "There's a poultice on his wound." Adria looked closely now noticing that there was indeed some form if poultice over the wound on his chest.  
><em>Why would they patch him up?<em>

"Medicine?" Finn called down clearly as surprised as everyone else "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"  
><em>That's a good question.<br>_Everyone was on edge  
>"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing" Bellamy spoke.<br>With a new sense of urgency the boys in the tree worked faster to get the groaning boy down. Adria watched on in worry, hoping that their roughness wasn't making his condition any worse.

Fate didn't seem to be on their side when the sound of a growl came from the tree line. Adria spun her knife still in her hands.

The teens stood tensely all eyes on the tree line. A black mass darted from out of the cover of the trees and into view. It was a huge hulking black feline. The massive black beast began to advance, stalking the fearful teens. Its jaw slackened and mouth hung wide.

_What a way to die. _


	7. Chapter 7

**New chapter! Thanks for the favs and reviews, i means a lot!**

Chapter seven:

The beast charged.  
>"Bellamy, gun!" the boy reached for his firearm but found it was no longer in his waistband.<br>It was nearly upon him when shots rang out across the clearing, Wells had the gun.  
>Two shots and the creature went down, disappearing into the high grass.<br>Nobody moved watching for any sign of movement.  
>Suddenly the beast was mobile, leaping towards a stunned Bellamy. Another shot rang out hitting the black beast in the head.<br>It fell to the ground. Wells continued to pull the trigger not registering that the clip had been emptied.

Everyone stood in shock, eyes all falling to Wells who in a split moment had become their saviour.  
>"Now she see you" Adria looked and noticed indeed Clarke now looked at Wells with a look of admiration instead of displeasure.<br>The girl rolled her eyes, now confident they were no longer in any danger started directing Finn and Murphy the safest way down the tree.

Finally Jasper was safely on the ground.  
>Adria moved to his side running a hand across his cheek, Clarke knelt next to her looking the boy over, inspecting his injuries.<br>"He has a fever" Clarke muttered, more to herself as she placed her hand on the unconscious boy's forehead. "We need to get him back to camp."

_Fever, Fever, Fever! What can reduce fever?_

Adria held her head in her hands, trying to think of anything that could help her injured friend.  
>The rest of the group was arguing the parachute Wells had brought to carry Jasper back to camp.<br>Bellamy wanted to use it to haul the beast, to provide their settlement with source of food for the night.  
>Adria silently begged them to shut up, so she could think.<br>The she had it  
>"Achillea Millefolium!"<br>All arguing ceased as all eyes turned to her direction. Not shying away from the attention she looked to Clarke "Achillea Millefolium, can be used to bring down fever."

"Achil…What?" Bellamy questioned.  
>"Achillea Millefolium…Yarrow, it's a plant. If we can find it we can use to it bring Jaspers fever under control and it can be used to stop bleeding."<p>

Clarke didn't look so sure, on the Ark they had never been able to use plants for healing as they didn't have any growing. She didn't know if she could trust the suggestion, Adria hadn't to her knowledge had any previous medical experience. Seeing the blonde's uncertain face Adria took hold of the other girls hand in a very un-Adria like fashion and squeezed it in reassurance. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

After a moment Clarke nodded "Ok, what do we need to do?"  
>"Get Jasper back to camp get him into the dropship" Adria ordered "I will need boiling water and clean bandages…or whatever we can substitute for bandages."<br>Clarke nodded in understanding, listening carefully to what she was being told. She knew that this information could save Jasper's life…if Adria was right.

"Jaha, you're with me." Adria ordered, not waiting for his response before continuing "We'll find what we need. Clarke I need you to get him back to the dropship as soon as possible."

"Hey!" Bellamy interrupted stepping in-between the two girls getting their attention "We're not splitting up."

"You don't get a vote, **Captain**" Adria spat. "We don't have much of a choice. You need to get Jasper…and tonight's meal back" She told him, kneeling down and pushing her knife back into her boot. When she didn't get a reply she knew she had won the argument. Standing she nodded at Clarke, turned and head back into the forest with Wells hot on her heels.  
>* * * *<p>

"We're looking for a weed with an angular stem" Adria called across to Wells who was searching a few meters away. "Leaves will appear feathery and the flowers will be white."

"So much like most other flowers then?" Wells shot back feeling frustrated.

Adria huffed in irritated "This is not a good time to be snarky, Jaha."

They had been searching for what seemed like hours with no such luck.  
>Wells was growing more and more frustrated by the minute having seen several plants that fit the description and being told almost immediately he was wrong.<br>It wasn't as if Wells was completely oblivious to plant knowledge, he knew names of certain species but apparently not how to identify a weed.

They walked in silence eyes peeled Adria was beginning to lose hope.  
>It could be possible that over the years the plant no longer existed, that during the nuclear war the species had been wiped out, or even evolved in some way.<p>

Just then something caught her eye, a plant fitting the description from the old books she had read.  
>Carefully she moved over to it and inspected it. A wave of relief washed over her<br>"I've got it!"  
>Taking her knife from her boot she cut free several stalks of the plant, being none too careful.<br>Wells had since joined her and was looking over it, to him it looked just like the other plants he had found over the last hour or so.

"You're sure?"

"We'll soon find out, wont we?" Adria said. "Put these in your pack."  
>Doing as he was told, the dark skinned boy delicately placed the stalks in his pack and fastened it.<br>Not wanting to waste any more time Adria put her knife away and stood  
>"Let's go"<br>And with that both of them took off running, retracing their steps back towards the dropship.

Night had fallen before the pair reached the dropship.  
>By the looks of it Bellamy had served up the beast and for the first time in two days the delinquents had eaten well. Adria silently prayed that they hadn't been taken too long and her childhood friend was still living. At that moment a loud groan of pain echoed through the dropship and out into the open space of the camp site. Many of the delinquents sent back their own groans in response but theirs were more out of tired annoyance.<p>

They had made it on time.

Wells and Adria moved through the camp quickly, keen to get the yarrow to Jasper. Before they could reach the ramp Clarke pushed back the tarp from the dropship door and walked down the ramp. The blond look exhausted, she looked up and saw Wells and Adria walked quickly towards her and let out a sigh of relief.  
>Walking out to greet them, she asked "Did you find it?"<p>

Wells opened his pack and showed Clarke who smiled slightly before looking grim again.  
>"He's getting worse" she explained "his pulse was three eighty, when I last checked."<br>"Do you have water boiling?"  
>Clarke led them over to a small fire which had a small pot over in filled with water.<p>

Adria was relieved that it had been prepared like she had instructed and got to work.  
>Looking around, she found a large rock and picked it put before waving Wells over and indicated for him to give her the pack. Adria ground up the yarrow as quickly as possible until it was powdery and proceeded to place the powder in the boiling pot of water. Clarke and Wells watched in fascination.<br>"Do we have anything to use for bandages?"  
>Clarke nodded, disappearing back into the dropship for a few moments before returning with what appeared to be a former shirt. It had been ripped into strips to make bandages. It wasn't ideal but it would have to do.<p>

_At least it looks clean._

Adria told them to bring something to hold the boiled liquid in. Once again Clarke disappeared, this time bringing back two small wooden blows. Adria furrowed her brow, where were they getting cooking equipment? Had the council given the something of use after all?  
>Adria took the pot carefully off the fire and set it aside, wincing at the heat on her skin.<br>The medicine was ready. Adria picked up the first bowl, slopping off the oily top layer.  
>She took the makeshift bandage and placed it in the bowl, soaking it<br>"Have you removed the poultice?" she asked.

Clarke nodded grimly at the painful memory of Jasper screaming in pain.  
>"Take this up to Jasper" she said handing the blond the bowl full of oily bandages "Give it a couple of minutes and then wrap them around his wound. It will hopefully stop the bleeding and stave any infection that takes hold."<br>Not needing to be told twice, Clarke headed back into the dropship being careful not to spill any of the oily liquid.

Next Adria took the other bowl and filled it with the remaining water at the bottom of the pot – this broth would serve as drinking tonic and hopefully break Jasper's fever. She picked up the bowl and headed after Clarke to the dropship with Wells closely behind.

Up above Jasper lay on a makeshift bed, bits of parachute and clothing had been flung together in the hopes of making him more comfortable. Monty who held Jasper's hand tightly stood at the sight of his friend and rushed to hug her. Adria returned his hug with one arm trying not to spill the water in her other hand.

"You okay?" he asked looking her over for any trace of injury. Adria gave him a reassuring smile and nodded before moving around him to reach the unconscious boy.  
>Clarke, Finn and Octavia sat close by watching over him. Clarke had done as she asked and wrapped the bandages tightly around Jasper's wound.<p>

"Tilt his head up" Adria ordered as she kneeled down beside him.  
>Octavia looked at her strangely "What for?"<br>"Just do it" her sharp reply did the trick and Octavia lifted his head. Adria trickled the water slowly into his mouth and made sure he swallowed before placing the remaining water at his side for later.

Now all they could do was wait.  
>* * * *<p>

Adria hadn't been able to sleep, Jasper's moans of pain had managed to keep not only her but half of the camp awake. She and Clarke had spoken during the night. Clarke telling her that more of the group had taken off their wristbands, this time because Bellamy had chosen to give food only to those who had.

Daylight came sooner than she had expected, people started to get up, grumbling about how terrible their sleep had been thanks to Jasper. Adria leaned against the wall watching the unconscious boy hoping that he had the strength to survive. Monty sat next to her, his eyes shut not that he was sleeping at all. Clarke was pleased when she announced Jasper's fever had dropped, but he wasn't out of danger yet. The blond gave him another sip of yarrow water, hoping to keep it down.

Next she undid his bandages and inspected the wound. It was nasty and jagged but to her relief it wasn't infected. Clarke asked Adria how often the bandages would have to be recovered the yarrow oil but Adria couldn't give her an answer. She wasn't a doctor, only knowing how to administer to first treatment. The blond opted to re-do the bandages and cringed when Jasper let out another blood curdling scream.

Monty shot up from his seat, but settled down again seeing that his friend was alright.  
>The scream had been loud and soon Octavia was back in the dropship drawn in by the scream. She was followed closely by an irritated looking Bellamy.<br>"Can't you keep him quiet?" by the looks of it their leader hadn't managed to get much sleep either "He's putting everyone on edge."

_Why don't we stab you in chest and see how quiet you are._

"He's in pain" Monty spoke up running a tired hand over his face. Bellamy regarded the small boy choosing to ignore his comment. Instead he turned towards Clarke who was still knelt over Jasper.  
>"We can't have him constantly screaming, he's starting to scare people." He informed them "If he's not better when I get back from my hunt, I'll kill him myself."<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, sorry this update has taken a while. Uni has been taking up most of my attention and i have writers block! :(  
><strong>**This chapter isn't my best but i put a little background in so that hopefully that will make up for it.  
><strong>**Thanks to all my new followers and reviewers :)**

Chapter eight:

"I won't let him hurt you" Octavia whispered, running her hands through Jasper's damp hair, his head in her lap. In the hours since Bellamy's hunting party had left, Jasper's condition hadn't changed. Adria watched on as the younger girl whispered soothing things in Jasper's ear, as if he would be able to hear her.

Monty was occupying himself trying to get on one of the dead wristbands to work again, in hopes of contacting the Ark. Adria knew he was just trying to distract himself from the thought his friend might die from his wound or by one of their own. They all knew if Bellamy really did intend to kill the injured boy there would be little resistance from the other delinquents. It would be too easy.

Adria hadn't moved from her spot against the wall, where it was easier to keep an eye on her friend and the hatch to the lower level. No one would hurt Jasper if she had anything to do with it.

"Damn it!" Monty cried, slamming down the useless wristband in frustration. No matter what he did he just couldn't get the damn thing to work. Truth be told he was stressed, so stressed that he couldn't seem to do anything. Even doing something that seemed so natural to him was no so difficult.

"You okay?" Adria asked, rubbing her face tiredly.  
>Monty nodded putting down his tools, got up and plopped himself down next to her. They said nothing as they watched Octavia continue to run her hands through their friend's hair.<p>

Adria observed the other girl closely, not having much of an opportunity before now. She could see the familial similarities that Octavia shared with Bellamy. Their eyes especially were a similar shade of brown. Sensing eyes on her Octavia looked up catching Adria's eyes. Neither looked away.  
>"You care about him."<br>It wasn't a question. Octavia broke eye contact to look back down at Jasper's head in her lap, her eyes softening.

"He saved my life" she replied, her attention now on Adria. Adria hoped that with Octavia on side Bellamy would not make a move to end Jasper. Adria could see the worry on the younger girls face and shuffled forwards to place a hand of comfort on her shoulder  
>"Jasper's strong, he'll make it."<br>Octavia didn't look completely convinced but offered a small smile. Truth be told Adria didn't know if she even believed her own words. Jasper was strong but was he strong enough?

All three of them jumped at the loud yells and cries from the lower level, Adria looked over at Monty with concern. What was going on down there?  
>Getting up, Adria opened the hatch and peered down, watching as everyone was piling into the drop ship, coughing and spluttering. Spotting Clarke, Adria climbed down the ladder pushing her way to the ramp where Clarke was stood hurrying people through the door.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked as more people moved past her, each coughing harder than the first.  
>The last of the delinquents were in and Clarke closed the dropship door, sighing in relief.<br>"It came out of nowhere" Wells informed Adria, coming forward.  
>Adria frowned in confusion "What did?"<br>"A fog, the air got heavy…and then everyone's skin started burning."

_Burning fog, great._

The sound of coughing was echoing around the dropship, everyone trying to get rid of the foul taste at the back of their throats.  
>"Is there any water?" Clarke asked, herself taking deep breaths. Seeing how everyone was reacting to the fog Adria was glad that she had opted to stay on the dropship with Jasper.<br>She shook her head "Any water we have is out there." Adria told her. The Blonde nodded in understanding before she began walking through the crowd of cough delinquents and headed up the ladder, Adria and Wells following behind her.

When the hatch opened Octavia and Monty looked up, worried expressions on their faces. With the hatch open the cries and moans from the others were louder.  
>"What's happening?" Octavia questioned.<br>"Some sort of skin burning fog" Adria told her as she appeared through the hatch after Clarke. Monty rose a questioning brow, the thought of burning fog didn't seem very likely. Although it could some after effect from the nuclear war, some kind of build-up in the atmosphere…

After a moment Octavia spoke  
>"Is my brother back?"<br>Adria cursed under her breath. She hadn't even thought about the hunting party that was still out there. That was almost eight more lives possibly lost to the earth. The ground was quickly starting to lose its appeal. Silence gave Octavia her answer, she placed Jasper's head down gently before getting to her feet "We have go, Bellamy's still out there!"  
>"It's too dangerous, Octavia" Clarke tried to reason "I'm sure he found cover…he'll be fine."<br>* * * *

Hours had passed and they were now well into the night. Still, the fog hadn't cleared up. Most of the delinquents had opted to sleep on the lower level, not wanting to see the 'dying boy' above.  
>Adria didn't mind as it gave her more room to stretch out. The only other people on the second floor were obviously Jasper, Finn, Wells, Monty and Clarke.<br>Octavia had disappeared earlier on in the night to wait by the dropship entrance, just in case her brother had somehow made it back.

They had gone hungry for another night, but eventually everyone stopped complaining and tried to settle down for the night. Adria hadn't realised how hungry she was until her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten properly since they had come down from the Ark. With the hunters possibly dead, things were only going to get harder. After all they couldn't survive only on berries.

Jasper was silent which seemed unusual, given that for the past few days all he had done was groan in pain. Clarke had even checked that he was still breathing. While she was there she checked his wounds and was pleased to report he seemed to be healing. Adria smiled at the news, it seemed that she had helped after all. She just wished Jasper would wake up soon. Adria found herself missing him, Jasper was one of those people who always knew what to say. Adria remembered many times when she was growing up that Jasper had been always been there for her.

**Flashback:**

_Adria was in trouble, and she knew it. She knew she wasn't supposed to touch it, she knew how much trouble she would be in if she did. But what did her father think she would do? Having told his 10 year old daughter not to do something, he practically handed her an invitation. _

_Now Adria was hiding, trying to get away from the lecture she was sure to get when her father found out what she had done. Perhaps the ventilation shafts hadn't been the best way to escape the greenhouse office, but it was the only way she could think of to get out unseen.  
>And now she was lost in the twisted tunnels that weaved throughout the entire Ark. Everything looked the same, all the tunnels cold and grey. <em>

_Despite her complete lack of direction the girl continued through the shafts, hoping that if she just kept going she would eventually find a way out. Left or right? Adria wondered, glancing in both directions. Both ways looked the same but obviously went to a different place. After a moment of contemplation Adria decided she would go right, because that was the hand that she wrote with. _

_After while Adria took note that there had been no more turnings and she had continued to go in a straight line for a while. Time passed slowly in the vent but after a while longer she noticed there seemed to be a growing light_ _up ahead. Increasing her pace, the ten year old pushed forward, hoping to find an escape from the small space._

Finally she reached the grate that separated her from her escape on the other side.  
>She pushed on it, but the cool metal refused to budge. Pushing again and again she huffed in frustration finding that after her hard work it had barely shifted at all.<p>

_Adria bit her lip in thought. _

_A few moments of contemplation later she had an idea. Struggling, the girl managed to wriggle onto her back, her feet up against the grate. Taking a deep breath, she drew he legs back and slammed them forward on the grate. It groaned creaked and moved. She smiled to herself. Again and again her feet came down until after long arduous minutes of non-stop kicking, the grate came free, falling with a heavy metal thud. _

_Her feeling of accomplishment didn't last long. When she managed to push herself from the shaft she realised the room was not one she recognised. Boxes were piled one of top of the other all around the room, a work bench sat on the far corner of the room, a window looking out into space just above it.  
>"A door!" she exclaimed, spotting her exit. She ran towards it and waited for it to open like the other automatic door did on the Ark. <em>

_The door did not open. It had been welded shut! _

_Adria wanted to cry, she was still lost and now it seemed that she would be trapped in this room.  
>She began looking for another way out, pushing aside boxes as she went.<em>

The girl sat in the centre of the floor, having given up – it seemed she would have to go back the way she had come. But the thought of being lost in the shafts again kept her firmly planted on the floor.

_She sat there for what seemed like hours, eyes wondering aimlessly around the room. Suddenly there was a crackling noise that made her jump.  
>"Attention citizens of the Ark."<br>She looked up, seeing that the voice was coming from a small speaker attacked to the wall above the ventilation shaft opening.  
>" This is Chancellor Jaha speaking" it continued "The council has just been informed that Adria Harris from farming station is missing." Adria sat up straighter listening closely, her parents had reported her missing! <em>

"_Adria is ten years old, and has brown hair. She was last seen in the greenhouse offices 3 hours ago. If anyone has any information please bring it to the council." _

_After a few moments the crackling stopped and the room was once again silent.  
>Knowing that people were now looking for her, Adria was more determined to find her way back quickly. She searched the desk finding a few scrap pieces of paper, and discarded pens.<br>Picking up the only marker, she hoisted herself back into the vent took the lid off the pen and began crawling, leaving a trail of marker ink behind her.  
>* * * *<em>

_45 minutes later Adria had found her way out of the ventilation shafts, it turned out the sealed room she had found was in the old engineering section and wasn't too far away from the newer sections.  
>Now she had marked out a trail to find her way back to the sealed room with a pen marker. <em>

_Chancellor Jaha was making regular announcements over the speakers, reminding all citizens that the ten year old was still missing. Although she was now safely back in the open of the Ark, Adria still hadn't turned herself in to the security scads searching the different levels for her, afraid of how much trouble she would be in._

_So now here she was creeping through the corridors hoping not to be spotted.  
>All she had to do was make it back to the sleeping quarters without being seen. This would be difficult as there was a search patrol every 10 minutes. She was currently on the 3<em>_rd__ floor of the sleeping quarters, unfortunately hers happened to be another two floors above. _

_That is when she had an idea, instead of trying to get up another floor she could try and make it to her friend Jasper's room which was on this floor. Adria hurried down the hallway and sighed in relief at seeing her friend's front door. She knocked on the door bouncing on her toes anxiously. After a few seconds the door opened slowly revealing a tall lanky ten year old boy. He wore his pair of old oversized googles around his neck._

"_Adria!" the boy sighed in relief pulling the shorter girl into a tight hug, he had heard the chancellor on the speaker and had been worried about her.  
>"Where have you been?" he asked pulling away from her "Everyone's been looking for you!"<br>"I know" she replied pushing them both into Jasper's quarters and shutting the door behind them, not wanting to get caught in the hallway._

_Adria was relieved to see that Jasper's parents weren't home.  
>"What's going on?" Jasper asked in concern seeing the worried look on Adria's face.<br>"My dad is going to be so angry with me" the ten year old muttered, looking down at her feet. Jasper frowned in confusion  
>"Your dads been out looking for you" he told her. "He came round earlier, mum and dad went with him to look for you."<br>Adria frowned. Wasn't her dad angry with her? _

_After a few moments of silence Jasper spoke "You have to go to the council, everyone is looking for you."  
>Not waiting for an answer Jasper took hold of his friends hand and led her out into the hallway. Adria put up no resistance and allowed him to lead her. Sooner or later she would have to face her father.<em>

_Her father hadn't been angry when he was called to come and collect her from the council chamber, he was just happy that she was safe. Adria had told the council she had wanted to go exploring and had got lost in some of the lower levels of the Ark that weren't familiar to her. They accepted her explanation and allowed her to leave but not before warning her not to go off by herself again.  
>Jasper had been called a hero for finding her and Adria was all too happy to go along with it.<em>

**End Flashback**

Adria smiled at the memory, remembering how Jasper had basked in the attention after being named a hero. Jasper had never been praised for much, and she remembered how proud he had been.  
>"What are you smiling about?" Adria's head snapped in the direction of the voice. There Jasper lay his eyes open, he shifted slightly and winced in pain. He reached up and ran his hand over the makeshift bandage tied around his chest.<p>

"Jasper!" pushing herself off the wall she crawled over to where he lay and took his hand in hers. Looking around she noticed that she was the only one that had noticed the new development, or course that was most likely because they were asleep.  
>"What happened?" the boy asked weakly continuing to finger at his bandages, Adria squeezed the hand that she held.<br>"You got hit with a spear" she whispered.

Jasper took a moment to absorb the information.  
>"A spear?"<br>Adria nodded slowly "Turns out we're not as alone as we thought" she attempted to joke feeling her eyes starting to water. They were silent neither knowing what to say, both still gripping the others hand, trying to find some kind of comfort.


	9. Chapter 9

**I think this is the longest chapter i have ever written! Thanks for all the new favs and follows. Hope you guys enjoy this Chapter. R&R**

Chapter nine

Two more graves.  
>When the fog had cleared Bellamy had returned, dragging a body…Atom, his name was. It was the fog that had killed him, burned his flesh. Joining him was the chancellor's son, he had been stabbed during the night, while he was on watch. Jasper's awakening had been dampened by the knowledge that they had lost two in only two days.<p>

Burying Atom had been easier, when she and Wells had dug the grave. Adria hadn't known him, he was one of Bellamy's goons. Wells grave was harder. After his body had been found in the early hours of the morning she had volunteered to help Clarke with the burial. They hadn't been friends not by a long shot but she had got used to him just being there and he had been nice enough.

Adria had stripped Wells of his jacket and boots, knowing that he would want them to go to someone else who needed them. Clarke had resisted much like Adria had when she first had to bury their dead. But the blonde had relented eventually, letting the other girl strip the chancellor's son of his no longer needed items. Adria had looked down at Wells face and tried to come to terms with the fact that this would be the last time she would see him. The last time she would hear him complain about how Bellamy was running the camp.

Adria had let Clarke say good bye before she began to shovel dirt into the grave, slowly covering Wells body. When the hole was full the pair stood at the foot of his grave. Adria couldn't help but think that she was lucky not having to dig a third, the third being for Jasper. The goggle wearing boy was doing well and overnight the colour had started to return to his cheeks.

Clarke was visibly upset, the pair had only just repaired their friendship the night before.  
>"I'm heading back" Adria announced lifting the shovel over her shoulders. The blond gave no answer continuing to stare at the freshly covered grave.<br>Nodding to herself Adria decided to leave Clarke to grieve and, with one last glance, turned and headed back towards the dropship.

_That's four, _she thought to herself. Out of the 100 delinquents that had been launched from the Ark, four of they were already in the ground. Two of which had never got to feel the sun on their face and the earth beneath their feet. It was unfair but there was nothing that she or anyone else could to change it. All they could do now was survive. It was surprising how much easier it had been to bury two more bodies. The first the day before had made her gag and heave, this time there had been none of that. Just cold numbness.

Pushing those thoughts from her head, Adria entered the dropship, leant the shovel against a wall and began climbing the ladder. She couldn't let the deaths bother her, Jasper should be her primary concern. She didn't want to have to dig his grave. Putting on her best smile she pushed the hatch up and lifted herself onto the second level, shutting it behind her.

Despite herself the sight she was greeted with made her smile. Jasper was sitting up talking away with Monty who was at a wall fiddling with loose cables. Octavia was smiling to but Adria could see the grief underneath her smile, she and Atom had been friends. More than friends if what she had heard about them was true.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Adria asked coming to sit down next to Jasper, who rolled his eyes playfully at her.  
>"Come on Ad's, don't be a spoilsport" the injured boy complained when his friend placed a hand on his forehead. His head didn't feel overheated Adria noticed in relief, he really was on the mend.<br>"Yea, don't be a spoilsport" Monty echoed chuckling, trying to hide his smile by staring intently at the wires in his hand.

_Traitor! _

Adria raised her hands in amused defeat "Fine. Fine, but we'll see who's laughing when Clarke sees you're not lying down." Jasper rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms loosely around his friend's shoulders giving her a light squeeze, so not to hurt himself. _  
><em>"You worry too much" he told her releasing her from his grasp.

_You have no idea. _

"How's Clarke holding up?" Octavia asked, the joyous atmosphere disappeared immediately.  
>The news of Wells death had traveled quickly through camp, Bellamy had woken everyone in the early hours of the morning to announce the news.<br>Some seemed upset at the news, while others were indifferent to the death of the chancellor's son, because that's all he ever was to them…the son of the chancellor.  
>Adria thought for a moment, it was difficult until last night Clarke seemed to hate Wells just as much as the other delinquents. But the bottom line was they had known each other their entire lives, she could not have hated him entirely.<br>Everyone seemed to be waiting for an answer "She'll be ok" Adria finally decided on.

After a moment she added "What about you?"  
>No one it had seemed had thought to ask Octavia how she was feeling, it wasn't just Wells that had been killed. Octavia seemed taken back at first, before sniffing and running a quick hand over her eyes. It was fair to say that Adria liked the younger Blake sibling much more than Bellamy. Octavia just seemed to be more likable, maybe that was because Bellamy seemed like a power-hungry tyrant. They both had a look of strength and determination about them. But the strongest of people had weakness.<p>

Another minute passed without an answer "I'll get over it" she told them, smiling weakly in Adria's direction.  
>* * *<p>

Bellamy had finally taken to the idea of building up their camp, unfortunately he was only interested in building the defenses. Never mind that the vast majority of former prisoners still had nowhere comfortable to sleep. And now thanks to the movement of 90 plus teens, the camps former grassy surface was now a muddy track- way.

Adria didn't know about the other teens currently living in the camp but she was sick of sleeping on the damp ground. Now she had decided it was time to do something to improve their living conditions. Stepping out of the drop ship she headed over the familiar flaming hair that belonged to her former cellmate. Rona was smiling happily despite the how exhausted she looked. The last few night had defiantly taken its toll on everyone. No one wanted to be building a wall around the camp but the potential threat of a grounder attack drove them on.

The red headed teen stood at one of the newly erected walls and was wrapping tree vines tightly around the logs, to keep them securely together.  
><em>Like the holes in the ground wouldn't do that.<br>_Adria grimaced at the squelching noise she made while walking "Hey, Rona" she called lifting her leg with a little difficulty. The redhead looked up and smiled "Adria! Where have you been?"

Adria had spent the last few days on the second level of the dropship with Jasper, it wasn't a surprise that Rona hadn't seen her.  
>"Looking after Jasper."<br>"Oh, how is he?" she asked sounding genially concerned.  
>"He's getting better, trying to walk around already" she chuckled. Her former cellmate gave her a bright smile at the news. Rona was just one of those people who cared, Adria didn't understand how one person could be could care about anyone that they didn't know on a personal level.<br>But nevertheless Rona was one of those people "That's great new!" she exclaimed, giving the vine another hard tug before she tied it off with a skilful knot.

That was another thing Rona was good at, knots. The skill seemed foolish to Adria when they had been in the skybox. Rona would spend hours wrapping bits of string together making elaborate looking knots, even turning them into bracelets to give to the other prisoners.  
>Down on the ground the skill would prove to be useful, Adria realized.<br>"He'll be up and helping out in no time" Rona told her moving to pick up another vine to wrap around the already secure gate structure. Adria hummed in agreement "Um…" she started not sure as to how to ask the question. Rona looked up in expecting interest.  
>"Could you do me a favour?" Adria finally asked feeling slightly awkward.<p>

If possible to red head smile got brighter, "Of course! What do you need?"  
>"We need some form of structures to sleep in" she started rubbing her hands "I was wondering if you…and your friends would be up for that."<br>"But what about the wall?" Rona asked, biting her lip, obviously worried that without her work the job would not get done.  
>Adria leant up against the wall impressed at its sturdiness "There are plenty of people around her that can do it, Rona" she explained. "But I need people with the skills to build sleep outs, tents I guess." Rona once again smiled, obviously pleased that her specific talents were needed for a job.<p>

"Well in that case" she spoke "I would be happy to help."  
>Adria sighed in relief and returned her former cellmates smile. Rona tied a final knot and the pair moved off to find others who would help them.<br>* * *

It hadn't been hard to find people who were willing to help build shelters, mostly they just wanted to get away from, building Bellamy's wall. Rona had been a big help in the recruitment, it turned out she was quite familiar with most of the delinquents.  
>That was just Rona, Adria had reminded herself. She just had a way with people.<p>

They had managed to recruit seven who were willing to help them. Adria and Rona had set them to work immediately, starting with collecting what was left of the torn up parachute.  
>"If we build larger tents there still won't be enough to house everyone" Nero told them examining the length of the parachute.<br>Adria hadn't met Nero before today, she wasn't even sure if she had seen him before. He was tall for his age of sixteen, a head taller than Adria. His dirty blond mop was unkempt frizzy, Adria was surprised he could see anything from underneath his fringe.  
>"We'll have to put together a rotation system" Adria thought aloud, eyes sweeping over the large mass of delinquents at work around them.<br>The thought did occur to her that if things continued how they were it wouldn't matter how many tents they had, they wouldn't have many people to fill them. "That's a good idea, those who aren't in the tents can sleep in the dropship and the next night it switches." Rona added cheerfully.  
>Nero nodded in agreement and turned calling out directions to the waiting teens that had gathered to help.<p>

"We're going to need vines and sticks to stake the tent to the ground" Rona said.  
>Adria nodded in agreement "I'll grab a couple of people to go out and get some."<br>Knowing the game plan they went their separate ways to complete their new jobs.

"You two" Adria called pointing at two girls who didn't appear to be doing anything constructive "come with me." Adria didn't expect them to listen but to her surprise they did.  
>Adria led them through the camp and towards to wall "we need vines and plenty of sturdy sticks to hold down our new shelters" she told them.<br>Once again they followed her directions without question, making Adria raise her eyebrows.

_Since when does anyone listen to me?_

"Oi!" Adria cursed under her breath recognising Bellamy's voice.  
>Adria spun on her heel to face the approaching leader, placing her hands on her hips she looked at him expectantly as he came to a stop in front of her.<br>Bellamy crossed his arms, in what Adria could only guess was him trying to look intimidating. The girls that Adria had recruited carried on into the trees, to complete their task.  
>"What can I do for you, Bellamy?" she asked finally, becoming irritated by the holdup. The older man unfolded and refolded his arms "Ran into Nero not doing his job, he told me to talk to you." He told her.<p>

"So you gunna tell me what you're up to, Doll?" Adria resisted the urge to scoff at his phrasing, was she 'up' to something? To her knowledge all she was 'up' to was making them all a better living space. Adria reminded herself that Bellamy was bound to be paranoid, he was looking out for the next threat to his leadership. However it seemed that his leadership was but secured, he his goons running around to complete his every whim and he had the majority of the delinquents support. Even those who opposed him wouldn't do it openly, it was about survival and without the pack you wouldn't survive. Clarke it seemed was the only person he had to worry about.

"I'm not "up to" anything" she finally replied, she wanted to get the conversation over as quickly as possible. There was more work to be done.  
>Now it was Bellamy's turn to scoff but in obviously disbelief "There are seven people not doing their jobs. Care to explain that, Doll?"<br>Adria groaned, why did he keep calling her that? It was so irritating!  
>Pushing her annoyance down she replied "That's not true, they're just doing other ones."<p>

"Please tell" their leader began raising his voice, catching the attention of those closest to them.  
>He took a step towards Adria, trying to intimidate the smaller girl, "What is more important than building a wall, for our protection?"<br>_Of course you would try and get an audience.  
><em>His words had the desired effect as more people began to listen and slowly inch closer to the pair.  
>"We really going to make a scene of this?" she asked irritably.<br>"These people have a right to know!" Bellamy must be one of those 'the world is my stage' kind of people thought Adria. He always had to have an audience.

"So, Doll." He began sound smug "What's so important that's slowing down the rate of a wall, which we are building for our protection?"  
>"Shelter."<br>"You're disrupting work on a defensive wall to build shelter?" he asked talking as if he were speaking to a child. People were listening intently to the exchange, whispering to one another.

_Don't lose your cool. You're better than this. _

Taking a breath to calm herself Adria smiled as best she could "Your wall isn't going to us no good, when we're already dead." Bellamy's frowned trying to piece together the picture Adria was trying to explain. "What are you talking about?"  
>"We won't have to worry about grounders when we're all dying from sickness caused by unsanitary living conditions, Bellamy" the whispers from the surrounding crowd ceased, all eyes now falling on their leader waiting for his response.<p>

Bellamy was silent not knowing how to respond. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind that 'his' people could die because of the conditions they were living in. But the wall was important as well, it would keep the grounders out. They would have time to worry about potential sickness later.  
>Adria was growing impatient, "We'll compromise" Bellamy finally announced.<p>

_What is there to compromise about?_

"You can have four workers, the main focus should be on building our defences." Adria didn't know how to react. On one had she was pleased that Bellamy had actually seen her point an accepted her opinion but on the other she was a little irritated that he thought he could dictate how to run her operation.  
>The crowd started to disperse realising there wouldn't be a confrontation, eager to get back to work.<br>"Next time, ask first"

_Ask first?_

Did he really just tell her to ask him next time she felt the need to improve their living arrangement?  
>What had happened to doing whatever the hell they wanted?<br>Although it never truly had been 'whatever they wanted', Bellamy had always had control over the situation.  
>Adria stood at attention "Yes, Sir!" she saluted sarcastically, spun on her heel and headed into the forest muttering under her breath. How very generous he was 'granting' her four people. Work would be a lot slower, they probably wouldn't achieve much before nightfall.<p>

_Screw Bellamy Blake!  
>* * * *<em>

Work was steady and hard. Nero was doing a good job at directing the workers that Bellamy had granted them. Rona had come to conclusion that she of more use to Adria's team and had decided to stay on hand. The other two weren't all that helpful but followed instructions as best they could.

The vines they had collected had run out quicker than they had anticipated. It also didn't help that most of them hadn't been long enough in the first place. Seeing no alternative Adria volunteered to go and collect some new vines, leaving the others to carry on with what they were doing.  
>On the way out of the camp Adria caught sight of Octavia leading a hobbling Jasper out of the dropship. She pushed down the need to order them back inside and carried on, glancing back again at the pair before she entered the woods.<br>* * * *

_No, definitely not this way._

Adria bit her lip in frustration as she looked out across the river, she was well and truly lost.  
>How she had managed to get lost she had no idea, how hard was it to lose a fallen ship?<br>For the past half an hour Adria had been wondering around aimlessly, trying to memorise the steps she was taking. But still she wasn't having any luck finding her way back.

The sun had reached the centre of the sky, telling her that it was midday. Adria sighed tiredly deciding it was time to take a break from getting even more lost.  
>She sat down on the rocky river back and watched the river, placing her backpack besides her. Adria admired how beautiful it was and how when the sun it the water just right it shone.<br>Whenever the sun used to hit anything on the right angle on the Ark, it would usually temporarily blind you. This was nice.

Adria wondered how long it would be until someone noticed she was taking too long.  
>Would they send out a party to find her? Or would they just assume the grounders had got her?<br>Bellamy would probably be pleased that she was gone, one less person to challenge his decisions openly. He would of course probably send out a search party, it wouldn't look good if he simply decided to leave her out there. After all he had gone out looking for two other delinquents that had got themselves lost. But they on the other hand were still unfound and most likely dead, thanks to the acid fog.

Now that she thought about it, it probably wasn't a good idea to come out here by herself.

Adria watched the water closely and smiled, it all seemed too peaceful. However it was too bad that everything on the ground seemed to be able to kill them.  
>Ever since Adria was a child she had loved the water, not that she had much experience outside of the shower she had in her old quarters. When Adria was younger she would purposely get as messy as she possibly could so she could shower. Once under the showers spray she could stay there for hours. She could remember how her mother would playfully scold her when she returned home covered in dirt from the greenhouse.<p>

The sound of rocks moving underfoot broke Adria from her thoughts.  
>So Bellamy had decided to send someone to find her after all "Took your time" she commented loudly, smirking to herself. A few moments passed but there was no reply, Adria frowned having expected some sort of snooty reply from whichever one of Bellamy's goons had been sent to find her.<p>

"Did Bellamy only just realise I was gone?" she tried again feeling her heart rate pick up when she once again didn't release and answer.

Maybe she had imagined hearing anyone approach, she tried to reason.  
>The thought didn't give her comfort for long when she heard more movement behind her. Taking a breath slowly turned her head.<br>Her breath caught in her throat.  
>First thing that caught her attention was the arrow head inches from her face. Adria shook with fear, was this going to be it? Was she going to be murdered by a grounder, hours away from the dropship? Would Bellamy even send anyone out to discover her body?<p>

The man growled something in a foreign language Adria couldn't understand.  
>What had he said?<br>When Adria didn't respond to whatever he had said he snarled angrily repeating his words again, indicating with his bow to stand. This time Adria understood, well at least she thought she did.  
>Slowly she got to her feet and turned around to face the grounder.<br>Looking him over she could see why those who had seen the grounders feared them. Her captor wore a mix of leather and fur, colours that would blend in with the surrounding forest.  
>His face covered in dark facial paint that made him look like some kind of wild creature, Adria could tell he was dressed in a fashion that was made to help him blend in with his surroundings, make it harder to be spotted.<p>

She wasn't the only one who was looking the other over.  
>The grounders dark eyes took her in. Adria wondered if this was his first time seeing one her people.<br>"Who are you?" at the sound of her voice the grounder broke out of his examination and pulled his bow string tighter. Adria jumped in fright, raising her hands defensively hoping to show him that she wasn't a threat. Her captor narrowed his eyes at her. Taking a step forward he lowered his bow, returning the arrow to his quiver on his back. And swing his bow over his chest.  
>Adria felt a sense of hope at his actions.<p>

_Is he letting me go?_

Her question was answered when the grounder pulled out what looked to be rope.  
><em>He's going to tie me up!<br>_Her eyes flickered frantically looking for any way of escape, who knew what the grounder would do to her if she let him take her. She didn't think she would be able to get around him, her only option was to attempt to cross the river._  
><em>Adria took a step back moving closer to the river behind her, seeing her movement the grounder pulled out a deadly looking knife and barked angrily in his alien language.

He moved quickly across the rocks. Within moments he was in front of her. The grounder placed his knife to her throat the message was clear, try to escape and he would kill her. Satisfied that he had made his point the knife was re-sheathed, and he began tightly binding her hands.  
>* * * *<p>

The grounder had led her back into the forest, tugging on the rope attached to her bound hands every now and then. The sun had started to set and the forest was covered in shadows, Adria knew the darker it got the less chance she had to find her way back to the dropship.  
>And the bigger problem was how was she going to escape from her grounder captor? He obviously knew the forest better than she did, having probably spent his entire life in it. There was also no doubt in her mind that he knew how to fight – so attacking him would probably not be such a good idea.<p>

They kept pushing forward long after the sun had set, the grounder obviously not worried about losing his way in the thick woods. The walk had been mostly silent apart from the grounder growling in his barbaric tongue whenever she slowed. Adria assumed he was telling her to hurry up, or maybe cursing her slow pace. Truth be told she was fully capable of walking at a faster pace but she wanted to delay him as much as possible, hoping that a search party would find them.  
>The thought of seeing one of Bellamy's goons actually made her smile.<br>Normally the thought of another person being hurt didn't appeal to her but for all she knew this grounder could have been the one to kill Wells.

Adria could practically picture him sneaking into their camp and slitting Wells' throat. Maybe he had even watched as the life drained from his body. His could have been the last face that the Chancellors son had seen. The thought made her blood boil, she and Wells hadn't been friends but he deserved so much better "Did you kill Wells?" she asked, not meaning to voice her thoughts.  
>Adria hadn't expected any sort of reply, as far as she knew he couldn't even understand a word she was saying. Shockingly the grounder turned back and looked back at her, his brows scrunched together in what she could only guess was confusion.<p>

_He can't understand you_, Adria reminded herself.

They had stopped completely, her grounder captor continuing to stare at her.  
>He seemed to be waiting for her to speak again.<br>"Wells" she began "Did you kill him?"  
>"K-kill no" Adria stood in shock, he could speak English! "Kill no" he repeated this time not having much difficultly. The fact that he even knew who Wells was seemed suspicious to her, although there was a possibility that he didn't even know what she was really talking about and was just saying words that he knew. Adria didn't know what to say, she hadn't expected an answer at all, not only did the grounder understand what she was saying but he was giving her answers.<p>

"You speak my language?" she indicated to herself.  
>Her captor suddenly seemed to be bored of the conversation, turning and giving the rope a hard tug before continuing through the forest. Adria tried multiple times to try and get him to speak again but it seemed to be in vain, as he continued to walk silently.<p>

"I'm Adria" she announced, while stepping over a fallen tree trunk "Do you have a name?"  
>Once again she was met with no reply.<br>"Where are you taking me?" Adria was becoming more frustrated every time the grounder refused to answer her.

Finally after what seemed like hours they stopped, the sun had completely disappeared and they were in darkness. Adria squinted to try and see anything, she was thankful they had stopped not wanting to trip over anything she couldn't see. The grounder sat Adria up against a tree and begun to build up a camp fire. In this moment Adria contemplated trying to escape, but she remembered she had no idea where she was and her hands were still tightly bound in front of her. She wouldn't get far without falling and she didn't think her captor would let her get too far.

He sat down on the opposite side of the fire, placing his bow and quiver down next to him.  
>The fire lit up his face, studying his paint covered face Adria thought he couldn't have been more than a few years older than her at most. His face was cleanly shaven and his hair fell just above his shoulders, with two braids resting on either side of his cheeks. He seemed content to ignore her as he took out his knife and started to sharpen it on the edge of a stone.<p>

It occurred to her that she still didn't know where her captor was leading her, or what he was going to do to her when they got there. Killing her would seemed to be the most logical explanation. But why would he walk her all the way through the woods to kill her? Unless they were going to kill her for some kind of ritual sacrifice. Adria knew she was being silly and he _**probably **_wouldn't sacrifice her.

"Who are you?" Adria asked, hoping to get any sort of recognition.  
>Looking up the grounder continued to sharpen his blade, eyes narrowed in her direction.<br>What use was meeting a grounder that as far as she knew had a basic understanding of English, if he was going to ignore her questions? "I'm just going to keep asking"  
>"Quiet" Adria was surprised when he answered.<br>"Oh, so you do speak!" the grounder grumbled under his breath once again concentrating on the task in front of him.

_Oh no you don't._

There was no way Adria was going to let them fall back into an uncomfortable silence now that she knew for sure he understood her. Adria scooted towards the fire with some difficultly thanks to her bound hands.  
>"Why won't you tell me your name?"<br>The grounder let out a frustrated sigh, putting down his knife and glanced over the fire to look at her. "Why…t-talk too much?"  
>Despite her situation Adria smiled, feeling a sense of triumph.<br>"I don't normally" she admitted.  
>Being around the other delinquents she didn't feel that much of need to express her opinion, rather taking matters into her own hands and doing whatever she pleased without really consulting anyone.<p>

Her captor furrowed his brows, Adria didn't know if it was from confusion or if he just didn't believe what she was saying. Now that she had him talking Adria had no plans on letting him stop  
>"How do you speak English?"<br>He contemplated the questions for a short time while playing with the hilt of his knife that lay by his feet. "We…See"  
><em>We see?<br>_"You see?" he nodded, then it clicked "You've been watching us?" her voice rose in disbelief.  
>Her captor smirked at her reaction and nodded his head again in conformation.<p>

How had he been watching them, without being seem? Everyone had been on guard ever since the news of not being alone. How could anyone have been watching them, not only that been watching them long enough to have picked up parts of the language?  
>Another part of his answer stood out, he had said 'we.'<br>"Not just you?" he didn't answer but the look on his face confirmed it. The grounders had been watching them.  
>Her captor seemed to take please in Adria's sudden silence.<p>

"One of you killed, Wells" his eyes narrowed at the accusation.  
>"No. Sky people, kill sky people."<br>_Sky people?  
><em>Adria had to admit the title wasn't that bad and did suit them, as to the grounders they must have looked like they had fallen from the sky.  
>But that hadn't been the point of his answer, he had said 'sky people, kill sky people' did that mean of the former prisoners had taken it upon themselves to murder the Chancellor's son?<p>

"I see" he told her pointing to his eyes.  
>He saw who killed him! "Who?" Adria's first thought was it must have been one of Bellamy's followers, keen to get on his good side. But even Bellamy wouldn't risk killing one of their own off, beat someone half to death sure but killing someone didn't really seem like his thing.<br>Would on of the others have killed him? As far as Adria knew no one had a personal grudge with him, only with his father.

The grounders voice broke through Adria's train of thought "Girl." Adria's eyes met his.  
>"Girl?" a girl had killed Wells? It didn't make sense, sure many of the girls at camp were capable of doing it, heck some had been locked up for similar crimes. But she knew of none that disliked the Chancellors son enough to murder him.<br>"Girl…" he stopped, Adria guessed from the frustrated look on his face that he couldn't think of the right word to use.  
>Instead of continuing to speak he gestured with his hands, "short?" he shook his head in frustration.<p>

_Short, little…young?_

"Young?" her captor breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded "young" he added sounding quite pleased with himself.  
>By young Adria assumed that he meant younger than they were. How much younger? Most of the delinquents were around the same age, only a few were considerably younger aging around 12 – 13 years old. But was it possible that one of the delinquents so young had murdered a boy that was probably double their size? There had been no sign of struggle where they had found Wells body, but Adria like the others had assumed that a grounder had snuck up on him and slit his throat from behind. If Wells had known his killer, and wasn't afraid would also explain why there was no sign of a struggle.<p>

_Who was it?_

Adria wasn't familiar with any other the younger delinquents, to be honest she was familiar with the majority of those around her own age. Making it harder for her to try and think of someone who was able and willing to kill another person. Another thing that didn't make sense was where they would have got a knife, Bellamy had made sure that the youngest members of the camp weren't give weapons.  
><em>One decent thing Bellamy had done. <em>  
>"Sky people kill sky people" he said again, mistaking the look of her face for a one of disbelief.<br>* * * *

They had fallen into a comfortable silence, her captor seemed to be pleased that Adria was no longer asking any questions.  
>Adria was still trying to process the fact that one of the younger members of the camp had managed to kill Wells. While trying to figure out if she even believed the grounders story.<br>It would be so much easier to just believe that a grounder had ended Wells life.

Adria was so deep in thought she almost missed the unmistakable sound of a yell.  
>Her head shot up when she heard it again, her grounder captor heard it as well, and was now on his feet. Bow gripped tightly in his hands, arrow already notched and ready to go.<br>Adria listened carefully the voice soon turned into voices, all yelling out for Bellamy and someone named Charlotte.

_Who's Charlotte?_

Listening closely she recognised that voice, it was Murphy.  
>"Murphy" Adria muttered under her breath, what was he doing all the way out here in the middle of the night? At first she hoped they were out looking for her but the fact it was Bellamy's name they were calling not hers.<p>

They sounded close "It's ok, I know them" Adria reassured the grounder who was tensed and ready for a fight.  
>Her captor didn't take notice eyes darting around the surrounding tree's looking for any signs of the approaching delinquents. It didn't look like he was wanting any more company.<br>This was it Adria realised, this was most likely the only chance she would get to convince her captor to set her free.  
>"You have to let me go" the grounder growled what Adria assumed was a way of telling her to 'shut it' in his common tongue. But this time she wasn't going to back down "If they find you, they'll kill you." That wasn't necessarily true Adria didn't know what her people would do if they stumbled upon them, but they probably wouldn't take too kindly to a grounder kidnapping one of their own.<p>

Her captor didn't seem too worried about the concept of the 'sky people' finding them, and Adria didn't doubt that he could defend himself.  
>"Let me go."<p> 


End file.
